4 JANUARY 1908, Page 10

The Druce Case was robbed of a great deal of

its mystery on Monday. Leave having been granted by the Consistory Court, the Drum family vault in Highgate Cemetery was opened in the presence of representatives of the Home Office, the parties to the present action for perjury, the Duke of Port- land, and two Press agencies. It was then found that the coffin bore the name of Mr. T. C. Druce and contained the remains of an aged man with a beard. Consultations have been held during the week between the claimant and his counsel, but at the moment of writing no decision has been arrived at. The case being still sub judiee, we are precluded from offering any comment on the bearing of this incident on the whole case. We ratty say, however, that the result of the exhumation entirely explains Mr. Herbert Drace's re: luctance to consent to what he considered to be an act of desecration, though we believe him to have been well advised in withdrawing his objection.