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could not be got at unless that fort were taken, and from that shaft the Tunnel could be easily stopped; from that shaft there might also be access to the Tunnel, and to a mining gallery passing behind the wall of the Tunnel, from which gallery the side of the Tunnel could be blown in. It would be easy so to arrange that you could stop the Tunnel in half-an-hour by having shingle ready, placed in receptacles made of a hopper form, with suitable doors; by opening the doors, the shingle would run down the shaft into the Tunnel, and thus obstruct the passage through it. And with regard to the question of flooding the Tunnel, I may observe, that it would be wholly unnecessary to fill the Tunnel as some persons seemed to have supposed. It would be sufficient if water were let into the Tunnel in a sufficient quantity to cover the rails to a depth of five or six feet at the point where the two inclines meet" (p. 267).
Sir John Adye.
(1.)—Memorandum:—"I must confess that the idea of any great danger to this country being created by the completion of a submarine Tunnel, did not come across my mind when I heard of it, nor after more careful consideration of the circumstances, has my opinion changed" (p. 218).
"No general, I presume, would dream of bringing his troops (or even of sending an advanced party) for the invasion of England by rail (supposing the rail still there) from France to England, through a Tunnel over 20 miles long, and with only a hole to emerge from at the exit. Considering the extreme facility of destroying the invading troops as they successfully arrived, by means of a small force, with a gun or two, at the mouth of the Tunnel, that idea may be dismissed; it hardly requires argument. So that, even assuming the Tunnel to be in perfect order, no force could possibly use it with any prospect of success, unless they had previously secured possession of our end of it, and were in a position to hold it."
"Possession of the English end of the Tunnel, therefore, is the first point to be gained, and this can only be obtained either by force or by treachery."
