"GOLD DUST."

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 103, 4 May 1925, Page 8

"GOLD DUST."

TREASURE TROVE FOUND. lIN LONDON'S RUBBISH BINS. A BACKYARD SPECULATOR. ! Spurred by the success attending'the ! salvaging of the gold which went dovyn :in the Laurentic, speculators are seri'ouslv considering the problem of bringi ing to the surface the untold treasure j which has lain at'the bottom of the ! harbour of Xavarino ever since the ] Turkish fleet was sunk there by the 'allied fleets under Admiral Codrington I early in the last century. I There is a vastness and a splendour I about such a project as this which | stirs the imagination, to say nothing ;of the atmosphere of romance which ! surrounds it. But there are other and less remote sources of .treasure trove i than those which lie under the silt of , distant seas. , ] -Money in Wembley Lake. . | Even the _ornamental lake at Wembley has repaid investigation. W hen I it" was recently dredge<l in 'preparation for the opening of tire Exhibition, i the workmen found reasonably large quantities of money and other [more or less, valuable things which had ! been lost b.t' revellers. j It is quite easy to understand, that when Edwin puts bis arm round Angelina's waist, and she exclaims, "Oh. ! Mr. Higgins, nin't you terrible." and [ the ornamental boat begins to rock, it is as likely a.s not that her will be dropped overboard. And even' though there may not have been a., great deal in it," there were a""great many Angelinas on the lake at one time, "or another, so that the total monetary deposit on its bed was not altogether negligible. But one need not go even as far as Wembley in search of treasure. The wise man bides nearer home, and searches the dust«bins. His profit i* such that he need not envy the dealer in old furniture who occasionally—very occasionally—finds a roll of ancient banknotes between the back and the seat of a secondhand sofa, or a few old coins in the secret draw of a desk. His returns are not so great ns this, taken individually; but though small considered as units,' they are not so sporadic, and very much surer. Shreds and Patches. For these reasons Mr. V). Sims, of Wick Road, in the East End of London, annually renews with great cheerfulness his contract with the Hackney Borough Council by which, in return for a payment of £200, he is permitted to search all the rubbish collected in the borough. Last year, it is true, was not as profitable as usual, because the weather was so wet. In wet weather, rags, which are tlie most valuable part of the refuse, get wet, weigh twice ,<a much, and are consequently worth only half the money. And even rag and bone dealers have" their pride; consequently they draw the lino at wet rags. Jars and bottles are worth retrieving. Many of them go back to the firms whence they came, being sold in gross, clenned, and set out on their round again as containers of the products for which they were originally destined. Bones nre collected and used in making" glue, being sold for so much —or so little —a pound. Alarm Clocks Lost. But stranger finds than this are brought to light. Gold rings, brooches, and other articles of jewellery have been discovered, while top hats are frequent. A complete evening dress outfit, apparently the property of a waiter, was found. Knives, forks, spoons, 6alt-cellars. and alarm clocks arc numerous. One can understand an infuriated householder, in a fit of irritation, hurling his alarm clock into the dustbin, and then being afraid afterwards to tell bis wife about it, or too angry to humiliate himself by recovering it personally. Most of the clocks merely need cleansing with paraffin to make them go again, whereupon they enter into trade once mote. It would be interesting to speculate bow many interludes in a dustbin fall to tho lot of the average London suburfban alarm clock. Purses, empty or otherwise; hamlbags. portmanteaux, scent bottles, toilet accessories, nnd gold and silver handed umbrellas all find their way into the dustbin. Perhaps the most curious discovery of all was the marriage certificate of a person of title.