The Sun.
London, England, 1861-06-19 00:00:00

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, TUESDAY.
The trial of the prisoners in the fraudulent burial
case, which commenced on Saturday, was concluded
yesterday in the Commission Court. Serjeant Sul-
livan stated the case to the jury on the part of the
Crown. The gist of it is that in a cause entitled
" Foote v. M`Gregor," a sum of £5OO was lodged
in the Court of Chancery in London. This sum
Maria Higgins had power to dispose of by will,
provided she died without issue. A will was
propounded by the prisoners, Charles Higgins
and Henry William Devereux. It was proved to
be drawn up in the handwriting of the latter,
and on the 21st of August, 1858, he applied for
administration to the Court of Probate in Ireland.
Ultimately letters of administration were granted
by the Court of Probate in England, and on the
25th of March, 1859, the sum of £5OO was paid.
These proceedings were taken on the allegation that
Maria Higgins was dead. Her "mortal remains"
were supposed to be " waked" in a house in Bishop-
street, she being at the same time alive and well,
and residing in the city at Haddington-road-terrace.
A coffin was obtained with an inscription on the lid,
setting forth the name and age of the lady. There was
a funeral, with a hearse and two mourning coaches,
and the remains were interred with all due solem-
nity in the Roman Catholic cemetery at Glasnevin.
The bereaved widower had crape on his hat, and
otherwise mourned in an exemplary manner. But
the secret was disclosed, and the police inspector
found nothing in the coffin but a bag of sand and
some loose clay. Devereux said, in his defence,
that he was drawn into the fraud by the others ;
that he got only £l4 for his share in the transac-
tion; that Higgins and his wife were in a state of
starvation, and if the money had not been got they
must have gone into the workhouse. The judge,
however, said that it did not matter one jot who
was the prime mover in the business. The jury,
after an absence of half an hour, found both the
prisoners guilty on all the counts. In passing sen-
tence Mr. Justice Hayes said,—
" You, Charles Higgins, are a person of a rank in life
higher than that of the persons whom we are accustomed
to find at the bar, and you, Henry Dementia, aro a parson
of equal position in life; and, besides that, you are a mem-
ber of a profession, or far advancing towards that pro-
fession—an honourable profession—a profession which,
from the position of its members, challenges the confidence
of society—a profession which, if it is to retain that confi-
dence, should have its purity carefully preserved and
watched. You have served a part of your time to the hon-
ourable profession of a solicitor; you have acquired knew-
ledge for the discharge of its duties honourably, and I re-
gret to say that that knowledge, which was bestowed on
you for that purpose, you have perverted to a very different
one. 'I here can be no doubt whatever both of you knew
that you were engaged in the perpetration of a wicked, out-
rageous, and unlawful conspiracy to defraud. When per-
sons in your rink and position in life are brought by their
own misconduct before us, it is not my intention to let you
escape unpunished, when justice has laid its hands on you.
The sentence of the Court is that you and each of you be
imprisoned for the space of two years."
Higgins said, " I am satisfied, my Lord, if I am
protected in my rights afterwards." The Court
ordered the prisoners to be removed, and Mrs.
Higgins, who occupied a seat beside the dock near
her husband, bursting into tears, was taken outin a
fainting otate.