Widnes Examiner. — 1881-08-20 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

PRECAUTION.—A troupe of wandering musicians were once playing before an hotel. At the end of the piece one of the members left the group, approached the leader of the band, and pulled out a little paper box which he emptied into his left hand while the eyes of the leader followed every movement. He then took a plate in his right hand and passed it around. There was a large collection, but every one wondered what he held in his left hand. "Why, it's very simple," said the chief when questioned; "we are all subject to temptation, and to be sure of the fidelity of our enfiertor we c.1.,1 ire him tn hold five Meg in hie left hand. and ue count those :,:st wlien he returns, ts,) as tv make sure vf the money."  ,it''•7o„4oY'N DIE 1 'zit, 'SATURDAY, AnGITST 20, 1881  IVI tSCELLANEOUS.  Mr. Whalley, M.P., contradicts a report that he intends to resign his seat. Another Liberal seat has become vacant, Colonel Joicey, one of the members for North Durham having died on  Monday. The wife of the Mayor of Liverpool on Saturday gave birth to a daughter. The happy event will be signalised by the presentation of a silver cradle. At Nottingham, on Monday, a man. named Brown was hanged for the murder of Elizabeth Caldwell, a woman with whom he had lived. Both were drundards. I The horses which have been running with the Liverpool  and York coach (now discontinued) were sold on Saturday. Mr. Lightoller, of Chorley, was the purchaser of one of the  A youth named Cooper, son of a London auctioneer, shot himself dead at Littlehampton, on Monday. He was about to return to lowa with a woman he had been living with for  a fortnight. In Dublin, on Monday. Colelough, late distributor of stamps in the Irish Queen's Bench Division, who had been convickd of. forging stamps, was sentenced to ten years' penal servitude. Sit John Anderson presented on Saturday to the inhabitants of his native place of Woodside, a borough within the ; Parliamentary boundary of Aberdeen, a free library, cornposed of more than 5,009 volumes.  At a meeting of the Cobden Club, held on Monday, Mr. Joseph Arch and Mr. George Howell were elected honorary members of the club. _ _ _  The Birmingham Watch Committee has called on Major Bond, the Chief Constable, to resign. The Major has for some time acted in opposition to the committee. Mr. Balfour, Solicitor-General for Scotland, has been appointed Lord Advocate, and Mr. Asher, M.P., Solicitor, General. Mr. Herbert Gladstone, M.P., has been appointed I a Lord of the Treasury, unpaid. Alex nder Bruce, labourer, was arrested at Perth on Monday night, on suspicion of being concerned in the blowing lupof a vessel in the Tay. He has' lately been working in I conneciion with a sand vessel running in opposition to the ' one exploded. At Margate, on Tuesday, John Slate, a chief engineer at Hammersmith, drank a quantity of cyanide of potassium, and also gave some to a man and child. They did not take sufficient to harm them but Slate died in two hours. He was married, and was about to return to London with his wife. It is stated that during the course of Monday the Premier received about 100 telegrams and messages from various parts of the country, forwarded by Liberal clubs and associations, calling upon the Government not to yield to the Lords' amendments to the Irish Land Bill. It is estimated in the _Aquarium Gazette that our wheat  crop this year will not yield what we call an average crop. Barley is largely over average, oats are disappointing, beans and peas are better than at one time they promised to be, and that too may be said of our green crops. Hay is one of the shortest crops ever known. A Berlin correspondent states that Jew-baiting still continues in Germany. Disturbances took place in Stettin on Monday night, where a demonstration was made against the Jews, though the police interfered in time to prevent damage to property and arrested forty of the participants. A marriage with a deceased wife's sister lately took place at Neuchatel. The remarkable feature of the ceremony was that the officiating clergy included two ex-Chairman of the Congregational Union, the Rev. Dr. Stoughton and the Rev. J. C. Harrison. Mr. Colman, M. P., was also present. The total receipts into the Exchequer from the let of April to August 13th were £28,658,000, ygainst £28,418,000 last yea'; customs, £6,736,000, against £6,614,000 ; excise, £8,772,000, against £9,217,000' stamps, £4,513,000, against £4,386,000; post-office, £2,512,000, against £2,091,000. The balance in the Bank of England on Saturday last was £844,299; Bank of Ireland, £801,685.