TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13879, 2 November 1910, Page 8

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Extraordinary exTho citement and specu-Wc-.st Australian lation still mark Rush. the Bullfinch mining boom. The big line is now regarded by somo uthoritics as "the richest known." outhern Cross has experienced many mvous Ikioius, hut nothing to equal tho -enzy that notv prevails. Crowds of cople havo collected, ami were, at ttest advices, according to a Sydney aper, "madly rushing about with egs, urgent telegrams, and bundles f option papers." The boom is lectrifying tlie city. Properties aro .langing hands freely at prices '3)0 or cent, above those cf t'urce months 50. Tradesmen, particularly builders, snnot cope with the increase in busi- ! »ss, nnd a; for hotel.% they are packed. [eanwhile, the situation at tho Bulloch mine becomes clearer, and there c now ground.- for authoritative etateents. To understand the position early, it- is necessary to review tiie me's brief history. Six month'; ago. cioletto, Jones, and Schallcrass applied r a lease of 140 acres of what they garded as promising land. Jones fered an eighth share for a few hun■cd pounds, and Sohallcrass, a par?ula.rly •• 'cute man, sold seven-six-enths of his share to Doolette for j ■000. Later, -when the mine began to j osper, the dealings of the partners j .inged. Schallcrsss was lucky to get j ck one-sixteenth at the price he had ceived for seven, and a sixteenth j terest Avas recently cold for £10,wd. j s great lodes have now been located, j om No. 1 324 tons have been crushed r a yield of 23040r.5, worth i' 7763. By irk cone, the owners claim that tins le will produce fully 15,000 tons of : y worth £000,000, assuming a lOor. ;ld. Crowds of people vi_it tho mine, lere every body is entertained royally the locky proprietors. The oxeftestit in Adelaide is so great tuat akers' clerks aro commanding a ■217 of. £1 a day.

Tlie Customs service c Tho the United States is : American wonderful organisation Smuggler, having fo «g ent , am spies in «verr cnpitrl ol Europe, and an Intelligejiee Department working with as much secrecy a. in diplomacy, all f ot the benefit foil those home-coming citizens of the Republic who try to smuggle, their ■purchases through without paying thoii just dues. A change appears to ik coming over-publio opinion in regard ie smuggling; the glamour of romance tic longer clings to it. and as the chief offenders aro mainly people oi wealth and position, it is being called "the | greenly yame of getting thing! j through.'' Investigations have revealer j some extraordinary facts, and made th.: Customs officers very wary. On one occasion a rich manufacturer came ashore with a mattress stuffed with silk, nnd coral sewed between linen, cor sets and draperies under a trunk's false bottom. Shirts would be sent tc Italy to he laundered, and would be returned duly Laundered, and, in addition, with delicate laces inserted between tbo layers of the starched losoms. "Books," -nith hollow receptacles for jewels, etc., were quite common, so common that ono Customs officer specialised on two titles Kvcry ''Book of Common Prayer" and every "Imitation of Christ' he scrupulously turned the leaves of. "Edward VI. always stood for him as the patron of glove smugglers, and Thomas i Kcmpis became to him the patron oi lcco smugglers." Circus people and jewellers sent in gems per medium oi reptiles and fancy fowls, which wer< declared f 'tools of trade,'' but when the crops of the fancy fowls wero made tc yield up their contents, -they were full of diamonds. Two daughters of * highly conscientious clergyman presented their unsuspecting father with s wonderful quilted lounging jacket, bought in Paris. When they reaches homo tbe garment underwent a remarkable transformation, owing; to th< fact that layers of costly Lice were extracted from its lining. Smuggling ha.'; now become an exceedingly fine art in the States, and those who undertake the "dirty work" make a handsome living out of it, their clients hfeling mostly women, who cannot bo taught to regard smuggling as a crime. Owing to tho increasing vigilance, however, most of tho smuggling is now taking piaco on tho Canadian border.

Sarah Bernhardt, whc 'Tlio would appear to have dis Divine covered tho secret of peren Sarah." nial youth, paid a visit t< England recently to under take a four weeks' season at th< Coliseum, a well-known London musi< hall. "The Divine Sarah" con fosses to being 66, and a few months ago became a great-grandmother. Th< appearance on the music hall stage oi the greatest living actress indicates thai tho "variety" form of entertainmenl has won a secure place in th© affections of theatre-goers in London. For hoi debut as a variety artist, fhn great actress chose the seconc act of "L'Aiglon," a play vriti which colonial audiences hav< been made familiar by Miss Titteli Bruno. The socno was that wherein the con of Napoleon ia seen in the castle of Schonbrunn, surrounded by his enemies, and attended by ono faithful friend, tho veteran soldier of hie father, who urges the young Duke to escape to Franco; tho scene with the toy soldiers on the table and the plan of the bnttlo of AusterlitE. According to the London correspondent of the Sydney 'Morning Herald," it allowed her to reveal herself as a delightfully boyish boy, ■ slim of build, erect of carriage, and graceful of movement. This revelation of her startled the audience on tlio night of her first appearance on the variety stage, and drew a great cheer from the thousands present. One thing that struck the spectators forcibly was the great actress's wonderful voice. Its lightest word was audible throughout tho vast theatre, and whether in denunciation, or in rehearsing gallant deeds, or in pathetically recalling the days that Aver© gone for ever, Mine. Bernhardt'a glorious voice thrilled her hearers in a way that no other living actress is capable of. Old as she is, Sarah Bernhardt seems tireless; her vitality is astounding. Sho snys herself, "B.ealjy, I never feel tired. Last night I was in Roubaix, giving 'L'Aiglon.' Wo began at 8.30 and finished at 12.30. Wo had supper and chatted. I retired at three, rcee at five, started for Boulogne at six, and here I am! My work is my life, and I shall die on the stage, though I've been called immortal." The French liave called her Notre Damo d'Energie —Our Lady of Energy.