Royal Commission Appointed to Inquire into Statements in the Press in Regard to Offers Alleged to Have Been Made to Members to Resign Seats in the Federal Parliament

On 15 May 1928 Prime Minister S. M. Bruce announced a royal commission after the member for West Sydney, W. H. Lambert, was reported as saying he had been offered £8,000 to vacate his seat for Theodore, and a former member, G. Cann, said that the member for Reid, Percy Coleman, had been approached. The Chief Justice of the High Court, Sir Adrian Knox, declined to act, and on 29 May 1928 Bruce announced that Judge Edward Scholes would be the commissioner. The terms of reference asked whether any benefit had been given or offered to any present or former member named in the statements to induce his resignation, and if so by whom, to whom and in whose interest. The Letters Patent are dated 28 May 1928.

1. 17 May 1928Bruce told the House that the Chief Justice, Sir Adrian Knox, had declined to act as royal commissioner.
2. 11 June 1928The Clerk of the House of Representatives was summoned to produce W. G. Mahony's 1927 letter resigning the seat of Dalley.
3. 4 September 1928Report tabled in the House of Representatives.

The report was laid before the House of Representatives on 4 September 1928. As summarised in the debate, the commissioner found that a former member had received a large sum for vacating his seat and that another member had been approached with an offer; Theodore, whose own conduct was at issue, maintained that the findings did not reflect on his honour, and he sought reimbursement of his legal costs. The Parliamentary Handbook gives 4 September 1928 as the date the final report was presented.

• Inquiry into alleged offers to members to resign their seats
• Identifying who offered or received any benefit, and in whose interest

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