Lord Alness:-

This is an appeal from a judgment and decree of the Supreme Court of the Island of Ceylon, dated 9th March 1936, which set aside a judgment and decree of the District Court of Avisawella dated 1st September 1934. These judgments and decrees were pronounced in an action for defamation, in which the appellant was plaintiff, and the respondent was defendant. The District Court awarded the plaintiff a sum of Rs. 10.000 as damages while the Supreme Court dismissed the plaintiff's action. The circumstances under which the present suit was brought excluding controversial matter are as follows : The plaintiff is a Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery of the University of Madras, a Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians, London and a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, England. He was at all times material to this action employed as the Government District Medical Officer in charge of the Government Hospital at Karawanella and had been in the service of the Government of Ceylon for a period of 22 years or thereby. The defendant was at all material times a member of the Kelani Valley Planters' Association and the superintendent of the Vincit estate which is sit