THE DRUCE MYSTERY.

Evening Star, Issue 10808, 17 December 1898, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE DRUCE MYSTERY.

MRS DRUCE SCORES ANOTHER POINT,

[Feom Ottb Special Corhespondent.]

LONDON, November 5. For some time the celebrated case in which Mrs Anna Maria Druce seeks primarily the revocation of her father-in-law's will, and secondly to prove her eon's right to the Portland estatos and title, has lain dormant in the Law Courts. The last heard of it legally was the granting of an application by Sir Francis Jeune, sitting in Cliambers, prior to the Long Vacation, for "letters of request" to Dr Trustram, of the Consistory Court, for an order to open the Druce family vault at Highgate to ascertain whether the coffin tabletted T. C. Druce contained human remains, or merely a roll of lead.

Mrs Druce, it will be remembered, alleges that T. C. Druce Wi»s merely the alias of the fifth Duke of Portland, and that he personally superintended the preparations for a " dummy " funeral in order to enable him to return to his proper sphere in society. Therefore, ft is evident how essential to her case it , is that there should be an inspection of the contents of the "T. C. Druce" coffin. Mrs Druce's efforts to obtain that inspection have bo far been frustrated by her late husband's family, who have at vast expense driven her from one court to another, and will apparently continue to do so as long as they can find any small legal point to fight on. When Dr Tristram intimated that he would like the opinion of a judge of the Probate Court as to wie necessity for an inspection of the vault it was clearly understood by everybody present in the Consistory Court that Mr Bargrove Deane, the counsel for the Druce family, pledg«d his clients to oppose Mrs Druce no further in the matter should Sir Francis Jeune express an opinion in favor of the opening of the vault and coffin. Mrs Druce's counsel (Mr Statham) certainly understood tliat tfiis would be the case, but no express arrangements were made on the point; therefore, nobody who has followed up the case from the beginning was surprised to hear that the Druce family intended to appeal against Sir Franeis Jeune's " decision," which, be it ,said, was really not a decision at all, but a forma) intimation to the Chancellor of the Consistory' Court that the opening of the vault and coffin would be of material assistance to the Probate Court when the action for the revocation of the probate of T. C. Druce's will comes on. However, the appeal was entered, and came on for hearing on Wednesday last before the Master of the Rojls and Lords Justices Clu'tty and Vaughan Williams. Mr Statham objected to the appeal on the grounds that there was an understanding between the parties to take Sir Francis Jeune's guidance, b«t he was obliged to admit that tnere was no " express " arrangement, and, therefore, could not carry his point. Mr Bargrove Deane then entered into a disquisition on the case, and intimated that the other side had no sense of the gravity of the act which they desired to be done. They treated the matter as though they were arguing about a sackful of grain, forming part of a cargo the Quality of which was in dispute. He proceeded to make Ids usual remarks concerning the feelings of the dead man's relatives, and hinted that Mrs Druce's proper course was to go on with her probate suits, and then if it should appear that the inspection of the contents of the coffin was at all germane to the issue the matter could be cleared up in a couple of days. How long Mr Deane would have gone on debating the merits of Mrs Druce's case one cannot say, but at this point the Master of the Rolls intimated that he really didn't know wliat the Appeal Court had to do with a request from Sir Frascis Jeune to Dr Tuttram to do something, which he might •or might not feel inclined to do. What was there to appeal about? Lord Justice Chitty agreed that Sir Francis's " order " was merely I a courteous expression of opinion, which did I not bind ihe Chancellor in any way. Mr Deane said that in that case he had no objection to the order, if it could be treated as a mere expression of opinion, because he was left with the remedy of appealing to the Court of Arches should Dr Tristram refuse to reconsider his order for the opening of the vault. The appeal was dismissed with costs And Mrs Druce scored another little point! But she is no nearer to getting a glimpse of the contents of the " T. C. Druce " coffin than she was six months ago.