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which it is narrated that, "He passed the sea in a great ship and came to Pevensey," carries us on one step further in this chain of circumstantial evidence, though only to prove so far that the sea was not then our protection from invasion, which it was some years after so signally proved to be. For, pass a few centuries, and what do we see? The mighty forces of a mighty conqueror are gathered on the opposite coast for the invasion of England, and from August to September, 1805, the hostile camp at Boulogne menaced the conquest of England. But it was not to be; the narrow strait, the "silver streak," divided us: his troops were all ready to embark, "but there was no protecting fleet of men-of-war in the channel," and Napoleon had to give it up, to turn away, baffled we doubt not and deeply disappointed. It is then one great and main argument against constructing a Tunnel, that we so far destroy our Insular position by joining ourselves on to the Continent of Europe. We should render our navy, the natural creation and necessity springing from this position, the glory and boast of England, of much less value to us in case of invasion; I should rather say of no value in preventing an invasion, if we could at any time be taken unawares, and either by treachery or stratagem, the Tunnel which we have ourselves made, should point the way to accomplish this and prove our own destruction, or at least entail upon us loss of life and suffering. If then we bring trouble and expense (for that must inevitably follow) upon ourselves or our descendants by under-bridging the channel and thus destroying our present natural safe-guard and defence, we shall have only ourselves to blame, we shall do so with our eyes open to the possible if not probable evil consequences, and in opposition to the valuable military authorities and opinions which I shall presently give you.
(4) Before going further, a few observations may be made on the possible motives or reasons or desires or advantages in constructing a Tunnel, and it might be, that different promoters might have especially or more particularly different motives in view. It would of course do away with the discomforts of the sea passage, and that not only as regards the uncomfortable effects arising from the restlessness of the ocean in general, and
