GAULLE Charles de. L. A. S. "Ton Papa", [Colombey-les-Deux-Églises] 22 January 1961, to his son Lieutenant-Commander Philippe de GAULLE (in Toulon); 4 pages in-8 headed General de Gaulle. After the referendum of 8 January for the self-determination of Algeria. "I'm writing to you from La Boisserie, where your Mum and I have come for the weekend. The other day, a Truffaut representative made an inventory of the plantations, from which it appears that quite a few things need to be done. The large fir trees throughout the garden are either dead (from disease) or doomed for the foreseeable future. Many of the trees need pruning, etc. The avenue needs to be rebuilt for the future. In short, we're going to get to work to give this modest park a new lease of life. I have no doubt that you are, at this stage of your career, entirely absorbed by your command. In particular, I know that you and your ship are preparing for a long cruise. I hope that the ship itself will have been well refitted beforehand and that the staff and crew are now satisfactory in number and quality. As for the execution of what Le Picard will have to do, that naturally depends on you, your decision, your judgement, your calm and your technical ability. On all that I have no doubt. The last few weeks have been, needless to say, very important for our country. I insisted on proceeding with the referendum, firstly to check the support of the French people for de Gaulle, secondly to involve them, as a nation, in the Algerian policy which I believe to be the only practical and the only possible one, and finally to show what tiny minority those who cling to pipe dreams claim to belong to. It is very likely that the current year will be decisive for this matter, which is absorbing and paralysing us, when we have so many things to achieve at home and elsewhere"... LNC, III, p. 319.