§ MR. JEFFREYS (Hants, Basingstoke)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that in the case of "Simmonds v. Heath," begun 18 mouths ago in the Farnham County Court over a disputed tithe claim for £3 10s., the defendant has secured three Judgments in his favour; that the plaintiff as well as defendant was content with the Judgments of the Court of Appeal given in November, 1893; on what grounds has the Treasury since intervened and given notice to the defendant that they will take up the case and appeal to the House of Lords, and that the defendant must lodge his case there by 13th September next; whether there is any precedent for the Treasury thus intervening in private litigation for their own purposes, without agreeing to indemnify both sides against the costs of the appeal; whether the Treasury will consider the consequence of their action upon the defendant, who is a small dairyman and grocer, and quite unable to pay for the preparation of his case before the House of Lords; and whether the Treasury will give the necessary indemnity for costs, in order that the defendant may have full justice done at the hearing of his case?
§ SIR J. T. HIBBERTThe Treasury has intervened in this case in order to obtain an authoritative judicial decision upon a question of considerable impor- 993 tance in the administration of extraordinary Tithe Redemption 1886 by the Board of Agriculture. The Treasury will be prepared to relieve both parties to the appeal of the amount of their necessary costs.