THE DRUCE CLAIMS.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXVII, Issue 88, 16 April 1903, Page 3

THE DRUCE CLAIMS.

The attempts fco establish tho right of the Druces to tho possession of the vast property of (ho Sixth I hike of Portland have nob yob been abandoned. Mr Thomas K. V. Coburn, a Melbourne barrister and solicitor, has left for England by the Oroya charged with the duty of bringing tho matter before the London courts again. The claimant in this instance hails from Brighton, a suburb of Melbourne, and his name is George Hollamby Druce. He is a carpenter, and he is proceeding to England with Mr Coburn, who is his solicitor. Mr Druce claims to be the lineal descendent (a grandson) of Mr Thomas Charles Druco, who from 1835 to ISG4 carried on business as an upholsterer in Baker Street Bazaar, London. It is alleged that this Mr T. C. Druce was a former Duke of Portland, whose eccentricity led him to assume this name, and indulge his desire for a business life under it. Mr T. 0. Druce is shown to have been twice married, first in 1816 to the grandmother of Mr G. H. Druce, and in 1851 to tho mother of Mr Walter Thomas Druoe, whose widow recently made the unsuccessful attack upon the estates, which caused snch a sensation in London. A strong syndicate in Melbourne, having at its head Mr J. MA. Howden, has been formed to finance the undertaking, Mr Druee hav.iDg issued bonds of £100 each, saleable at £10, which will leave a fairly large margin of profit to investors should his endeavor to prove his case and obtain the estates be crowned with success.