Lord Maugham:-

This is an appeal from an order of the Court of appeal of the Straits Settlements (Settlement of Singapore), dated 1st August 1935. By the judgments of the majority of the Court (Thomas, C. J., Federated Malay States, and Terrell, J., Burton, Ag. C. J. dissenting) the appeal of the respondents from the judgment of Sir Walter Clarence Huggard, C. J., dated 2nd April 1935, was allowed with costs and the order made by him was reversed. In the result a writ of prohibition which had been directed to issue by the trial Judge was set aside.

The appellants, the Estate and Trust Agencies (1927) Limited are the owners of a house known as Municipal No. 543, North Bridge Road, Singapore. The respondents, the Singapore Improvement Trust are a corporate body constituted by the Singapore Improvement Ordinance 1927 and entrusted (by S. 4) with the duty of carrying out the provisions of that Ordinance. The proceedings were commenced by the appellants by summons in the Supreme Court of the Straits Settlements (Settlement of Singapore) asking for the issue of a writ of prohibition directed to the respondents to prohibit them from further proceedings in respect of a declaration made by th