What role does Mr. Snell, the landlord, take in discussions?

In the novel Silas Marner, George
Elliot ensures that the reader gets the entire picture together of the description of a
typical small town, isolated from society, and that each and everyone of its inhabitants
is as picturesque and has an interesting set of characteristics that would reflect the
bucolic aspect of the story.

In this case, Mr. Snell was
the town's "investigator", but not in a derogatory way. He is the typical small town guy
who He served many roles in Raveloe: Inn keeper, deputy constable, and town's problem
solver. He is smart enough to have a clairvoyance (as it is described in the story) to
visualize things and uses his strong intuitive powers to, like the story says "put two
and two together".

In discussions, he is the no-nonsense
man. He will put the facts together, organize them, categorize them, classify them, and
analyze them with precision to get to the point. He is the one who adds all the clues
and connects all the dots when gossip, myth, legends, or happenings come up in
conversation. He is the town's reality checker.