ANNALS OF OUR TIME. Feb. 24.-Earl Granville, on the part of her Majesty's Government, endeavours to obtain some modification in favour of France of the war indemnity of six milliards of francs said to be demanded by Prussia. Government, he wrote, felt the difficulties which arise from their ignorance of the offers made on the side of France, and they bear in mind that this country is one only among the neutral powers, all bound by the obligations of friendship to both parties. "But her Majesty's Government are willing, in consideration of the extreme pressure of time, to make representations to Germany on the amount of this indemnity, and to tender their good offices in the spirit of friendship to both parties, under the conviction that it is the interest of Germany, as well as of France, that the amount of the indemnity should not be greater than that which it is reasonable to expect could be paid." Invasions of Looshai tribes into the tea districts of Cachar and Sylhet, North-east India, leading to the despatch of a combined party of British and native troops to recover a young girl named Winchester, who had been carried off after the murder of her father. 26.-Some remarks in the way of censure having been made in Parliament regarding the manner of the withdrawal of the British ambassador from Paris in September last, Lord Lyons writes to-day from Bordeaux :- "I conceived at the time that it was my duty neither to reject the advice of the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, nor to separate myself from my principal colleagues, and I thought it would be on all accounts inexpedient for me to allow myself to be shut up in Paris and to be deprived of all speedy and satisfactory means of communicating with your lordship. My subsequent experience has, I confess, confirmed me in these opinions. On the day after I left Paris, all communication by road with that place was intercepted, and on the following day the last telegraphic wire was cut. diplomatists who were left in the besieged city were refused by the German authorities positively all facilities for corresponding with their Governments otherwise than by letters left open for the inspection of those authorities. having resided at the seat of the Delegation of the Government at Tours, and having followed them to Bordeaux, have been accepted by the French as manifest proofs of the desire of her Majesty's Government to maintain intimate and friendly relations with them, while my doing so has afforded her Majesty's Government the readiest and most effectual means of maintaining such relations in fact." The My 26. A person understood to be a police spy, engaged in watching the National Guards defiling in front of the Column of July, seized by a mob of infuriated Republicans, and, after being subjected for hours to a series of gross outrages, is at last bound hand and foot and thrown into the Seine. 27.-Proclamation signed by Thiers and Picard posted in Paris, urging the inhabitants to accept even the hard terms of peace imposed by the Germans as the only means of saving France. During six days, it was said, the negotiators fought foot by foot, and did what was humanly possible to obtain the most favourable conditions. "If the Convention be not respected the armistice will be broken, and the enemy, already masters of the forts, will occupy in strong force the entire city. Private property, the works of art, and the public monuments are guaranteed to-day; but should the Convention cease to be in force misfortune will await the whole of France. The fearful ravages of war, which hitherto have not extended beyond the Loire, will then extend to the Pyrenees. It is absolutely true to say that the safety of Paris affects the whole of France. Do not imitate the fault of those who did not wish us to believe, eight months ago, that the war would be so fatal. The French army, which defended Paris with so much courage, will occupy the left of the Seine and ensure the loyal execution of the new armistice. The National Guard will undertake to maintain order in the rest of the city, as good and honoured citizens, who have shown themselves to be brave in the face of the enemy, and this cruel situation will end in peace and the return of public prosperity." 28.-Treaty of Commerce between Spain and Sweden and Norway signed. March 1.-This (Wednesday) torenoon the German army, to the number of 30,000, commence to enter Paris. The first Uhlan made his appearance at the Arc de Triomphe about nine o'clock. He was soon followed by other Uhlans, and then by the main body of the Gccupying troops, the 6th and 11th Prussian Corps, with about 11,000 Bavarians, which had previously been reviewed by the Emperor at Longchamps. Not being able to pass under the arch, they turned down the Avenue des Champs Elysées, and proceeded in the direction of the Place de la Concorde, their bands meanwhile sounding out the ever-popular "Wacht am Rhein." The Duke of Coburg, General Blumenthal, and their respective staffs, rode in at the head of the troops, followed by a squadron of Bavarian Hussars, with bright pennons of blue and white silk. Following these, and evidently in honour of Bavaria, came two batteries of Bavarian artillery, and then rifles and infantry. There (writes the Times correspondent) was the "Leib Regiment," with its shattered companies only a quarter of their original strength, and their flag hanging in ribbons from the stump of a broken staff. As they marched past the closed arch an officer's horse slipped and fell, and a crowd pressed round the dismounted rider. Instantly a comrade rode to his assistance amid the hisses of on-lookers; one man was ridden over, and two or three horsemen charged along the pavement, This had the effect of scattering the mob, and from that moment they looked on in profound and respectful silence. For an hour and a half did the incessant stream of Bavarians continue, with here and there an interval occupied by some general and his staff. Then came the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg. Bismarck himself, smoking a cigar, rode suddenly up, looked on the scene for a few minutes without going beyond the crest of the hill, and then turned away in the direction of Versailles, whither the Emperor and Crown Prince had retired after the review in the morning. Lord Lurgan's famous greyhound, Master M'Grath, shown to the Queen at Windsor, and afterwards to various members of the Court circle. Came on at the Central Criminal Court before the Recorder, the trial of Martha Torpey, aged 28, described as a married woman, charged as an accomplice in the robbery of jewels belonging to W. H. Ryder (see Jan. 12, 1871, p. 973). The shopman, Parkes, detailed his experience within the house in Upper Berkeley Street, into which he was admitted by a man describing himself as Tyrell, but now known to be Torpey. He took, he said, some of the jewellery out of a bag, and stated the prices of the different articles. He there saw the prisoner sitting at the fire. Witness stood at one side of the table, and the man on the other. When some of the articles were exa mined, the man suggested that the prisoner should go and call her sister. She went out of the room. When she returned she placed a handkerchief over his face, and the man immediately rushed at him and held his arms. He struggled, but the man continued holding him, and the prisoner pressing the handkerchief over his face. This lasted some minutes. He was then forced backwards on to a sofa, When he came to himself he found himself tightly strapped. The man Tyrell was standing over him, and said, "If you move I will murder you.' Witness asked him to loosen the strap over his breast, and he did so. Witness attempted to get up to a sitting position and look at the table, but Tyrell forced him down, and put a handkerchief over his eyes. He afterwards heard the front door slam. He succeeded in loosening the straps on his wrist, and broke a pane of glass in the window, and gave an alarm. All the jewellery on the table was gone, with the exception of a small gold chain. The jury acquitted the prisoner on the charge of robbery with violence, and also on a second charge for assault, on the ground that she had acted under her husband's coercion. 1.-Died at Edinburgh, John Carmichael, M. A., Senior Classical Master in the High School. The London School Board, by a majority of 41 to 3, reject a proposal for teaching the Bible without religious note or comment in schools under their management, Lord Sandon protested against the startling notions and new religion Professor Huxley had formerly brought before the Board, to which the Professor replied by reminding his lordship that as Keats was reported to have been justly killed by an article, so any faith which can be killed by human effort ought to be so killed." Died at Bordeaux, M. Kuss, Mayor of Strasburg and Deputy for the Bas-Rhin. 2.-Bank of England rate of discount raised from 2 to 3 per cent. The comparative quiet prevailing at Paris combined with the acceptance by the Assembly of the preliminaries of peace, caused the Stock Market to maintain a firm appearance, and even before business hours the French loan had been run up over I per cent. - Describing the desolate condition of Paris, the Journal Officiel records: "The Bourse and all the shops are closed. Paris has voluntarily suspended her life, and feels the responsibility weighing upon her in such a painful moment, that it becomes her not to add to the misfortunes she has already to hear others more terrible that might be irreparable. After having heroically endured famine and miseries, Paris is |