NEW SOUTH WALES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1849, 24 May 1888, Page 2

NEW SOUTH WALES.

Sydney, May 23. Two thousand five hundred firemen, representing the whole of. the colonies, , commenced a four days' carnival tods?. ; The warehouse of Messrs Gully and 1 Loveday, situated at Casino, on Rich--1 mond River, was destroyed by fire. ! The damage is estimated at \ A successful trial was made to-day 1 of the electric tramway car. Further trials will be made shortly. In connection with .the Fire Brigades' demonstration an immense torchlight ' procession took place this evening, m ' which 3000 firemen and eight bands took part. The spectacle was most I brilliant, and the main streets through 1 which the procession paraded were '• thronged with thousands of onlookers. ; Silver stocks show an extraordinarly ; depressed state and the present position falls little short of a collapse. All the Broken Hill shares, except those of the 1 Proprietary Company, have declined i fully fifty per cent, during the last week 1 or two. The French Consul here has supplied an official account of the French annexation of Raiatea, Huahine,Borapane, and Takao m the Society Group. The annexation was effected m Lacastade by the Governor of the French possessions m the Pacific with a force of marines and infantry. At Huahine, the Governor was received peaceably, and he explained that the convention between England and France ha 4 been mutually abrogated, France being at liberty to accede to their demands for annexation. Similar proceedings took place at other islands. On the party returning to Huahine a portion of the inhabitants raised an insurrection, and fired on the French, a number of whom were injured. Next day, however, the residents submitted and peace was restored.