Alfred Henry Lionel Leach, C.J.

1. The respondent filed a suit in the Court of the District Munsif of Chodavaram to recover with interest a sum of Rs. 389-8-0 which he alleged the Government had unlawfully made him pay. The respondent was the President of the Union Board of Dharmavaram, Vizagapatam district, from 1921 to the month of April, 1928. On the 30th March, 1928, the Examiner of Local Fund Accounts passed an order of surcharge against the respondent in respect of a sum of Rs. 455-8-0 on the ground that he had failed to collect arrears of house tax to this amount during the years 1921-22, 1922-23 and 1923-24, and consequently the claims had become barred by the law of limitation.

2. Rule 6 of the rules relating to the powers of auditors to surcharge, framed under Section 199(2)(0) of the Madras Local Boards Act, provides that any person aggrieved by a disallowance, surcharge or charge made against him, may apply to the principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction to set the order aside. The rule also provides that in lieu of applying to Court the aggrieved person may appeal to the Local Government. The respondent chose the alternative course, and asked the Local Gove