Judges' Chambers,
Melbourne, February 3rd, 1913.
To the Right Honorable Thomas, Baron Denman, a Member of His Majesty's Most Honorable Privy Council, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of the Commonwealth of Australia.
I, Your Excellency's Commissioner, whose hand and seal are hereunto set having been appointed by Your Excellency to inquire into and report upon certain charges made against Mr. Henry Chinn by the Honorable James Mackinnon Fowler in speeches delivered by him in his place in Parliament on the 17th day of December, 1912, and reported in the Official Parliamentary Debates for that day, copy whereof was attached to Your Excellency’s Commission, on pages 7281 to 7290 inclusive, do humbly submit to Your Excellency this my Report.
From an examination of the said pages 7281-7290 inclusive, it appears that the said the Honorable James Mackinnon Fowler made independent charges against the said Mr. Henry Chinn. These will be most conveniently dealt with in the order in which they appear in the said speech.
1. The first charge related to a testimonial supplied by the said Mr. Chinn as character and ability. The document is in the words following:—
"Collins-street West, Melbourne,
Dear Sir,
At your request we have much pleasure in committing to paper our appreciation rendered by you as our engineer in connection with various contracts carried out by us under the Public Works and Railway Departments and Melbourne Harbour Trust.
The construction of the new entrance to the Gippsland Lakes was a work that necessitated more than the ordinary amount of foresight and skill, and we are confident the brought about by the untiring energy and exceptional ability displayed by you.
So much were we impressed with you on the above works that we determined to engage you on all future contracts, and in every instance for a period of about eleven years your professional knowledge on all classes of work proved invaluable to us. It would be hard to single out any particular branch of engineering to eulogise you on, for you are equally familiar with harbour and river works, sewerage and railway construction, and as the sewerage works of Melbourne were some of the most difficult ever carried out in Australia, the successful issue you brought our contracts to demands the highest praise from us.
We trust your career will be a prosperous one, and feel confident, if the opportunities only present themselves, you will do full justice to your office, and continue to earn further distinction in your profession.
Faithfully yours,
(Signed) GARNSWORTHY & SMITH,
H. Chinn, Esq., C.E.
It is suggested rather than asserted by the said Honorable Mr. Fowler—
(X) That there is no genuine original of this document; and
(Y) That it contains untrue and misleading statements.
(1X) After a careful consideration of the evidence I am unable to say that I believe that a genuine original of this testimonial ever existed, and, on the other hand, I cannot say that I am convinced that a genuine original never did exist, and I am constrained to put my conclusion on this part of the Inquiry in the somewhat unsatisfactory form that it has not been proved to my satisfaction that there never was a genuine original of this testimonial and that this part of the charge against Mr. Chinn, that no genuine original ever existed has, in my opinion, failed for want of sufficient evidence.
