Melbourne, July 21
The meeting of the House of Representatives on the Thursday after the despatch of my last letter to Shanghai was historic in significance. Of course the Budget, presented by the Prime Minister and Treasurer, Mr. Scullin, was the cause of wide spread dissatisfaction throughout not only the ranks of the Opposition in the House, but also the populace of the various states of the Commonwealth, was not the outstanding: of the eventful sitting. The magnificent figure of the was a stirring sight to the oldest campaigners of political battle, cool, clear, and measured tones of voice rang out with the sonorous delivery of the words in which he strove to explain his actual position in regard to the accusation which the commission report upon the Chilligoe and Queensland Mining Inquiry had contained in regard to himself and his own actions. He moved unperturbed from one phrase to another in sequence of his subject and dominated the house with his oratory and his personality. It was the greatest histrionic effort which the experience of the It was a magnificent gesture only red by the references to atthe members of the ion were not unbiased either in the choice of evidence admitted nor in the findings announced. These were given in my previous letter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.