Tokyo, Dec. 9.
The House of Peers to-day passed the Government's relief budget, thus bringing to end one of the most tu: bbulent Diet sessions in recent years. was revealed to-day that. the agricultural and famine relief bill, which will aid the stricken areas to the tune of ¥.211,000,000 within the next two years, will be promulgated on December it, after the Cabinet obtains the Imperial Sanction.
Among the bills passed by the Legislature were measures providing for the issuance of deficit bonds, for the distribution of Government-owned rice to famine-stricken districts, of the tax decrease, postponement and exemption in the affected areas, and several amendments to existing laws.
The final meeting of the House of Representatives occupied exactly fourteen minutes, being limited to the discussion of a few private peti-
The Seiyukai had been demanding an additional Y.180,000,000 for relief purposes, or, otherwise, suspension of the discussion on the Budget. Ad-Jmiral Okada had refused to accede to this request, on the ground that it would seriously upset next year's financial programme, but he promised that the Government would give the utmost consideration possible to relief measures and relief works.
In_ its parliamentary battle with the Seiyukai, the Okada Cabinet received the solid support of the press for the first time since its termi tion' in July. All the leading newspapers appeared this morning with scathing attacks against the Seiyukai for its flibustering and mancuvring for party interest, which was characterized as utterly unwarranted in the emergency period through which Japan was passing—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.