Horwill, J.

1. These three appeals arise out of three suits that were tried together in the Court of the Subordinate Judge of Cuddalore because they gave rise to identical questions of fact and law. In each suit, the plaintiff was a company purchasing groundnuts and exporting them from Cuddalore in the South Arcot district. The common defendant in the three suits was "The South Arcot Groundnut Market Committee" by its President. That Committee was established under Section 5 of the Madras Commercial Crops Act of 1933; and in exercise of the powers conferred upon it by the Act, it claimed fees on sales of groundnuts to the three plaintiff firms. The plaintiffs paid what was demanded of them and filed these three suits for the return of the sums paid by them.

2. Two questions have been argued in these appeals : one is whether the sales and purchases in question were within the South Arcot district, and the other is whether the defendant committee had power to levy these fees, in view of the feet that the plaintiffs sold the property, they say, outside the district The learned Subordinate Judge decided these and other questions against the plaintiffs, who have appealed to this C