Horwill, J.

1. The suit institution, Sri Silambani Chidambara Vinayagar Devasthanam, is managed by the descendants of one Thungan Chettiar. In 1932, one branch of his family brought a suit O.S. No. 78 of 1932 on the file of the Subordinate Judge of Devakottai, for a declaration that they, as well as the defendants, who are the members of another branch of the family, were entitled to manage the temple properties in accordance with an arrangement entered into in 1907 by an agreement which is marked as Ex. P in this suit. As the affairs of the temple were being neglected because of the quarrel between two branches of the family, a receiver, Mr. S. Krishna Ayyar, was appointed to recover sums of money collected by various members of the family while managing the affairs of the temple. He is the plaintiff in the suit out of which this appeal arises. He contended that the defendant in the suit owed a sum of Rs. 51,759-11-6 to the temple, consisting of Rs. 15,237-5-6 due in 1903 and acknowledged by the defendants father, and the sum of Rs. 36,000 odd by way of interest. The acknowledgment took the form of a hundi, Ex. B. The defendant denied that his father had executed the suit h