It appears that the first plaintiff, the father of plaintiffs 2 to 4, plaintiff 5, the first defendant and the deceased father of defendants 2 to 7, had made bids for the lease of the land and the factory, and the highest bid of the defendants aforesaid, was accepted; and in pursuance thereof, a lease for 17 years from January 1926, to December, 1942, was granted by the Government in favour of the first defendant and the father of defendants 2 to 7. 'By a deed of partnership dated March 18, 1926, the first plaintiff with a two anna share, the father of plaintiffs 2 to 4, having a similar share, and plaintiff 5 with another two anna share, on the one hand, and the first defendant, having a five anna share, and the father of defendants 2 to 7, with the remaining five anna share, entered into a partnership for running the salt factory.