The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-10-02 00:00:00

UNCONSIDERED TRIFLES.
A profit of £lO,OOO a year spade in a single ciV../from
an industry based one cone-etion and re-manufaeture
of the cigar ends cast aside in the streets by smokers
is as striking an illustration of the value which may
be given to "unconsidered trifles" as could be desired:
Yet this is the revenue which it appears is derived
from one of those pctites industries for which Paris is
famous. Thepollector of the cigar ends commences work
• at the earliest peep of dawn, and in his rounds pays of
course particular attention to such fashionable prome-
nadeeas the Boulevards and the Champs Elysdes, gather-
ing up as he passes from street to street stumps of all
dipensions and quali4 as.pi pu,rehasing thynkat,wholesale
I 'prices from the garcons/of caf6s. By severi O'clock the
chasseurs de eigares has completed his rounds, and he
carries off his collection to his workshop. The
ehds of the " LondrW' and better descriptions of
.1/2(ara are care f ulty sorted outarom the,..— -
and with a working
\ d

see the establishment in every shire of financial boards
elected, not by landowners and farmers, but by all the
people who paid taxes. They had got hoitsehold suff-
rage in the towns. He advocated its extension.Ato the
counties also. In many parts of the country, espec'My in
England,th ere was no visible line of demarcation between
them, and it was preposterous to think that men living on
; one side of the street should have a vote, while their
' neighbohrs on the other side were denied it. But they
were told by those who opposed this new movement if
they thus extended the franchise by giving the suffrage
to the ratepayers in rural districts, they would have
immediately to redistribute the seats, seeing that by
such accession to the rural constituencies they would
render them entitled to a far greater number of repre-
,sentatives than they at present possessed. R.e admitted
;it, but was prepared to do that. The English boroughs
.of Dorchester' Harwich, Knaresborough, Lymington,
Marlborough, Richmond, Caine, Tiverton, Weymouth,
Truro, and Salisbury returned sixteen members of
-riiament; -although -their aggregatiC eonstitue-
amounte4 to only 11,050, whereas if there were

ciwarsarecarefi

kinds ; pl

oglirt
wood, a knife, ana a ening stone, the honest they would return only one
tradesman converts his raw producer in a coarsely eh'
.t it in another way, while
description of pipe tobaeco. - This can be-sold at prites- , 11;050 electors, returned siiteen
varying from two shillings per pound upwards, accord- members, eighteen divisions of great counties, Lan-
ing to the quality. It cannot be considered very nice caster, York, Surrey, and Kent, having, even under
smoking material, and *cis flavour, we should imagine, the present restricted suffrage, 217,042 electors, return
would be rather more d'.':rong than delicate, but the only the same number. This was an anomaly which
customers to whom it is sold—street-sweepers, chiffon- must be remedied some time. He went in for remedy-
niers, ratcatchers, and others—do not belong to the it now. The fact was, the longer he lived, the older
classes who are able to pay highly for their little got, so fat from becoming More timid and more
luxuries, or who care much for the Cultivation of a Toryish, he became every day more and more convinced
refined taste. This singular industry gives employ- that the wise policy in a time of peace and quietness
ment to some two hundred people in Paris, who rarely *like this was to extend that series of grand popular
make less than a couple of shillings per day, and often reforms which had done so much to render Britain the
gain four or five thillings—a circumstance which tends greatest country the world had ever seen.
to add force to the saying that one half the world does i During the delivery of his speech Mr. Baxter was
not know how the other half lives.—Globe. heartily cheered.
ti
A MODERN SAMSON. A LITTLE DIALOGUE AT "THE C. S.
• C. STORES?'
"Australian Beef has gone up,
_ .
• Fm sorry SO see, Mrs. BROWN."
"Alas I my dear Mrs. Smith',
With us it has never gone down ! "—Punch.

)nsisting of

block oi

an equal dial
member,_ or,

! reg

A New Brunswick paper gives the following account
of the prodigious feats of a St. John River man:—
Thomas, or Tom Gardner, as he was familiarly called,
was born on the River St. John, one mile above the
•
mouth of the Macta.quack stream, in the year 1798.
Viewed casually, Gardner gave no evidence of unusual
power, but when stripped, his muscular development
was tremendous, and it is Affirmed that instead of the
ordinary ribs, he possessed a solid belly wall on either
side, and that there was no separation whatever. He
stood five feet ten and a/half inches, erect, and full.
chested, and never exceeded-190 pounds in weight. The
late Charles Long informed us that at one time he saw
Gardner rift from a tow boat a puncheon of corn, con-
taining at least twelve bushels, and, swinging around,
deposit it on the sand. In so doing he tore the sole off
his boot. On another occasion a number of men were
trying to lift a stick of timber. In all the crowd only
one man could raise it about two inches from the skids.
Gardner told four men to sit upon it, and then lifted
it so high that the men jumped off to save themselves
from the fall. Mr. McKeen has frequently known
him in lifting to break boom.poles six inches thick.
He has known him also, with one hand to lift, by the
rung of a chair, the chair itself and a man weighing
two cwt. Once, in attempting to lift a very heavy
man, he wrenched the rung entirely from the chair.
Gardner at one time was possessed of a balky horse,
with which he exercised great patience; but, when
patience ceased to be a virtue, he would fell him to
the ground with his clenched fist, striking him behind
the ear. It is related of Gardner's sister that on one
occasion a famous wrestler travelled all the way
from Miramichi to Tom's home, in order to "try a
fall with him." Tom was absent, but the sister
looked co temptuously upon the intruder, declared
she could throw him herself, and suiting the action to
the word, in a fair trial threw him fairly three
times in succession. The stranger's experience with
the sister was sufficient ; he never sought a future inter-
view with the brother. The greatest feat which
Gardner was ever known to perform was on one of the
wharves in St. John. Mr. McKeen saw him lift and
carry an anchor weighing 1,200 lbs., 'lumbers of
witnesses standing by, some of whom are yet alive.
Frequently he has seen him carrying a barrel of pork
under each arm, and once he saw him shoulder a barrel
of pork while standing in an ordinary brandy box.
When about forty years of age Gardner removed to
the United States, and never returned to his native
province. It is commonly reported and believed that
he met with a sad adventure on board a Mississippi
steamer. A heavy bell was on board as a portion of
the freight, and the captain, a great; powerful fellow,
was concerned as to how he should remove it from its
place in order to make more room On deck. While
captain and passengers were at dinner, Tom, in the
presence of the crew, to their utter amazement, lifted
the bell and carried it to the opposite side of the boat.
When the captain returned, he asked how that had
been accomplished, and when Gardner laughingly re-
marked that he carried it there, the former gave him the
lie, and as one word brought on another, he presently
struck Tom in the face. This was too much, and for
the first time in his life the strong man gave blow for
blow; but one buffet was sufficient. The- captain
never spoke again—killed dead on the instant. Tom
made his escape, went West, and has never been heard
of since.