16 AUGUST 1963, Page 15

Sta,--Dingle Foot's interesting article prompts me to ask a question

which some legal pundit might answer, to the edification of your readers : does a man who commits suicide break his bail, so that his sponsors have to fork out? If the object of a recog- nisance is to ensure that the accused person is present in court at the required times, then surely his sponsors (or whatever they are called) can be held responsible if his suicide makes it impossible for him to be there.

A. WHIGHAM PRICE