Lord Atkin-

Their Lordships find it unnecessary to call upon counsel for the respondents in this case. This is an appeal from the High Court of Madras dismissing an appeal by the plaintiff, Mr. Marret. The suit arose cut of a. previous litigation, in which defendants 1 in this case, who are the respondents here, Messrs. Shirazi and Sons, brought an action against a French company and against Mr. Marrot in respect of contracts for the sale and delivery of hides. It appears that the French company carried on a tannery business in France and Mr. Marret had acted as their agent in Madras and in India generally. He also carried on business on his own account. In that suit Shirazi sued both the French company and Marret, alleging that Marret had acted as agent for the French company, and as soon as the plaint was issued, by the procedure which is provided in India, the plaintiffs proceeded to obtain attachment, before judgment, of property which they alleged belonged to the defendants, or either of them, and obtained, to begin with, a conditional order of attachment against a debt which they alleged the defendants, or either of them, were owed by a company called the South Indian Export C