VARIOUS ITEMS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 272, 9 April 1913, Page 3

VARIOUS ITEMS

The Kaiser's ball at Potsdam next September, in honor of the coming of age of his daughter. Princess Victoria Louise, will be of such a character as to become historic for its magnificence. To it his Majesty proposes to invite practically the whole of the royalties of Europe, and it is expected that such a gathering will never before have been assembled under one roof. As an indication of -what useful work a man may do, even though he has the misfortune to lose his eyesight, the industry of Mr. Tom Roberts, of Stratford, may be cited (says the Stratford Tost). Recently he stnt sixty dozen rope halter:. made by himself, to the New Zealand Li an and Mercantile Agency C'o.'s ITawcrst branch. They contain no I«s than 1 miles 387 yards of rope. 8: km lie teamed to do this work, Mr. Roberts has made about a thousand dozen rope baiter*, and, in addition, a large vj.tr.n.t?iv of clothes baskets, picnic basKi-is and childs' prams. What is believed to be the largest consignment of steel rails and fastenings for fine undertaking within recent years has just been landed at Auckland for the Waipa Collieries and Railway Company. This company, in which Wellington investors are interested to a substantial amount, is constructing a railway to join the Main Trunk line at Ngaruavvahia, Waikato. It will be Oy 4 miles in length, and all that is now being awaited to practically finish the line are the rails and the completion of bridge works. The company hopes to find an outlet for its coal in Auckland and Wellington, and along the line generally.

"We seem to have turned the corner now," was remarked by a representative of a firm of laud agents to an Auckland Staiyeportcr. During the past week or two the property market seemed to be muclv brighter, and the agent is of opinion that there was every prospect of such conditions being sustained for at least some months. At the same time he admitted there was a good deal of lost ground.to make up if the return for the year is to be as satisfactory as those of the past couple of years. Another land agent who expressed similar views remarked that there had been a e(imperatively small amount of transactions this year. "The cutting up of estates, for instance, has experienced a considerable check," he said. This had confined operations to properties already in hand, which meant that the possibilities of the business have been restricted. In fact, the supply had been temporarily greater than the demand. Other land agents, interviewed, referred to the check which has also been given to the operations of speculative builders, 'These men," said one, "buy up a whole street of sections and- Build rows of stereotyped houses. More often than not they are match- < wood places, and finance them on borrowed money in the hope, of selling immediately on completion. Up till lately the plan has heen working out all right, but during the past couple of months some of these places have hung fire, to the embarrassment of the builders, who are generally out of funds to the extent of one contract, relying as they do upon their sale to finance their next buikling." Tt was remarked that "for sale" notices had been in many such places of late.