George's Channel, upon a similar though much more
extensive scale to that now being undertaken between
England and France. From the extreme western coast
of Ireland to Halifax, the nearest telegraphic station in
America, the distance is 2155 miles; and as this might
be accomplished by the steamers in five or six days, it
is apprehended that England, by means of telegraphic
communication, may be put in possession of intelligence
from America in six days, instead of as now in twelve or
fourteen.

All operations connected with the Submarine Telegraph
between England and France are now suspended till
next spring. The interval will be employed in
manufacturing the wire cables and other apparatus, so that
the electric line may be completed by May. Messrs.
Fox & Henderson, the contractors for the completing of
the Cork and Bandon Railway, have been declared
contractors for making the wire cables.

An inquiry of a very serious character, which has been
going on for some time into the character of some of the
Cadets at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, has
been brought to a close. In consequence of some
practices too gross to be particularised, by some of the
students who had recently joined from the new training
school at Carshalton, the Master-General of the
Ordnance ordered a committee of inquiry to assemble and
investigate the circumstances. The first result was the
dismissal of three students from the Academy, who had
been convicted of these practices. The result of the
labours of the committee has been the expulsion of six
more out of the ten students who had joined the
Academy, making nine in all, and the peremptory dismissal
of twenty-three scholars from the Carshalton School.

The recent act "to amend the Law relating to
Benefices in Plurality," provides that no person
appointed to the deanery of any cathedral church shall be
allowed to hold the office of head ruler of any college or
hall within either the Universities of Oxford or
Cambridge, or the office of provost of Eton College, or of
warden of Winchester College, or of master of the
Charter-house, together with his deanery. This enactment
is not to apply to the dean of the Cathedral Church
of Christ in Oxford, as chief ruler of the college there
maintained. Heads of colleges in the universities are
not to hold cathedral preferment except in cases where
benefices or cathedral preferments may be permanently
attached to or form part of the endowment of the office.

A Ball was given to the Inmates of St. Luke's
Hospital, upon St. Luke's day, the 18th. It was the first
occasion of this kind which has taken place at St. Luke's,
and from the successful issue of the undertaking it may
be expected to be repeated. Between sixty and seventy
of the patients, men and women, were assembled at six
o'clock in the evening in the great hall, and music being
provided, they were quickly arranged in their places for
the old English country dance. This, with appropriate
changes, was kept up with great spirit until nine o'clock,
when all retired peaceably and cheerfully to their
respective apartments. The officers of the establishment,
with such nurses and attendants as could be spared from
the galleries, joined merrily in the dance. By this
means the confidence of the patients was secured, and
they showed themselves grateful for the enjoyment
afforded them, by entering into the amusement without
levity or boisterous conduct of any kind. There are at
present 196 patients in the hospital—91 men and 105
women. The average of cure during the last year was
60½ per cent., being a considerable improvement upon
former years.

The Board of Directors of the Asylum for Idiots have
just issued an appeal to the public. They have under
under their care, at Park House, Highgate, and Essex
Hall, Colchester, no less than 129 patients, and the
total number of persons the institution has dependent
upon it is 163. There are now 170 eligible patients
seeking admission at the ensuing election, and the board
can only venture to admit fifteen of the number. They
are anxious to erect a building properly adapted to the
care and education of the idiot, which, they say, ought
to contain not less than three hundred beds, and which
will be arranged so as to serve in all respects as a model
institution. Her Majesty has set an example of patronage
by a contribution of 250 guineas, so as to secure a
perpetual presentation to a bed, the right to be exercised
by the Prince of Wales.

On Friday, the 25th a Grand Banquet was given at
York by the Lord Mayor and municipality of that city,
in return for the banquet given in March last by the
Lord Mayor of London to the municipal towns of the
United Kingdom. The entertainment, given in the
Guildhall of York, was of the most splendid description.
It was honoured by the presence of Prince Albert,
ninety-four mayors of boroughs, representing all the
different portions of the United Kingdom; and the
numerous company included Lord John Russell, several
members of the Government, and the Commissioners
for the Exhibition of 1851. Among the addresses after
dinner the greatest interest was excited by that of
Prince Albert, after his health had been proposed by
the Lord Mayor of York and drank with the utmost
enthusiasm. His Royal Highness dwelt upon the
preparations for and prospects of the approaching great
Exhibition. "I see," he said, "in your anxiety to meet us,
her Majesty's Commissioners, again, a proof of your
earnest and continued zeal in the cause of the approaching
Exhibition. It could not be by the impetus of a
momentary enthusiasm, but only by a steady
perseverance and sustained efforts, that you could hope to
carry out your great undertaking, and ensure for
yourselves and the nation an honourable position in the
comparison which you have invited. If to cheer you on
your labours, by no means terminated, you should
require an assurance that that spirit of activity and
perseverance is abroad in the country, I can give you
that assurance on the ground of the information which
reaches us from all quarters; and I can add to it our
personal conviction, that the works in preparation will
be such as to dispel any apprehension for the position
which British industry will maintain. From abroad,
also, all accounts which we receive lead us to expect that
the works to be sent will be numerous and of a superior
character. Although we perceive in some countries an
apprehension that the advantages to be derived from
the Exhibition will be mainly reaped by England, and a
consequent distrust in the effects of our scheme upon
their own interests, we must, at the same time, freely
and gratefully acknowledge that our invitation has been
received by all nations with whom communication was
possible, in that spirit of liberality and friendship in
which it was tendered, and that they are making great
exertions, and incurring great expenses, in order to
meet our plans." His Royal Highness paid a graceful
tribute to the memory of Sir Robert Peel; observing
that, only at their last meeting they were admiring his
eloquence, and the earnestness with which he appealed
to them to uphold by their exertions and personal
sacrifices what was to him the highest object, the honour of
his country. He concluded by saying that, viewing the
practical nature of the English character, he was pleased
when he saw the plan of the Exhibition of 1851 undergo
its ordeal of doubt, discussion, and even opposition; and
that he hoped he might now gather, from the energy
with which its execution was pursued, that the nation
was convinced that it accorded with the interests of
England, and the position which she held in the world.
Lord John Russell, the Archbishop of York, the Earl
of Carlisle, the Lord Mayor of London, and other
distinguished persons, also addressed the meeting.

A great Dimitiution of Crime in the counties of
Gloucester and Somerset is apparent from the reports made
to the Quarter Sessions for those counties, just concluded.
The tables from the House of Correction in Gloucestershire
detailed a decrease in the number of prisoners, and
the disposition of those in charge was much improved.
There has been likewise a decrease in the cost of
maintaining these houses, of 25 per cent., owing partly to an
abundance of labour and partly to the cheapness of
provisions. In Somersetshire for the year ending Michaelmas,
1849, there were 740 persons committed for trial;
but in the year just ended, viz., at Michaelmas, the
committals were only 589, being a diminution of 152,
and the character of the various offences on the whole
has been much lighter. This satisfactory condition of
the country is to be attributed to the improved condition
of the working-classes, and the general sufficiency of
labour in the country.