Wadsworth, J.

1. The plaintiff filed a small cause suit on a promissory note dated 11th April 1938, for a sum of Rs. 300 carrying interest at 12 per cent. There was a series of payments of interest expressly appropriated by endorsements. The result was that all the interest was paid at the contract rate up to 11th. August 1941. The plaintiff sued for the principal amount of the note together with interest at the contract rate from 10th August 1941. The lower Court has held that the debtor is entitled to relief Under Section 13 of the Madras Act 4 of 1935 and has scaled down the debt by the process of calculating the total amount of principal and interest at the statutory rate and deducting therefrom the payments made, ignoring the fact that these payments have been actually appropriated as they were made towards interest at the contract rate. We do not consider that the procedure of the learned Subordinate Judge is justifiable. Under Section 13 it is provided that:

In any proceeding for recovery of a debt, the Court shall scale down all interest due on any debt incurred by an agriculturist after the commencement of this Act, so as not to exceed a sum calculated at 6 1/4 per c