A romantic story of shipwreck and residence on a small island in the Caroline group among the natives for 15 months] is told by Joseph Brinskin and Gus Wenswend, sailors. They sailed fi-om Newcastle, Australia, November 16, 1884, in the Australian barque Borthwick Castle for Amoy, China. The captain lost his reckoning and ran out of his course, striking on a.reef of the Mokin Isle, in the Caroline group, on January 3,1885. The ship went down at noon, after the crew of 18 men had taken to the boats, and with a small quantity of food and clothing reached the land. To their surprise and joy they found it inhabited. They were very kindly treated by the people, taken to their huts, and made at home. The natives are described as fine-looking people, who have very little inter course with the outside world. After a sojourn of a year and a quarter, Brinskin and Wenswend were taken off the island by the ship H. L«

Tiernan. The following applications for patents have been received:—J. Davies, of South Dunedin, fora horse-brake; W. Andrews and A. W. Beaven, of Christchurch, for improvements in chaff-cutters; D. Jones, of Auckland, for in vention to prevent down-currents in chimneys; J. A. Buchan, of Sandhurst, Victoria, for

improvements in solitaires, studs, &c.; D. Tay.
lor and D. Bremner, of Waverley, for a wool press ; G. Tombs, of Christchurch, for a black board cleaner and chack-holder; the Baron de Nouncie, of Chelsea, for improvements in bits for horses; A..Miller, of Milchester, Queensland, for apparatus for extraction of gold from finely ground materials.
