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of England have no intention of imposing such a fearful burden upon themselves" (p. 210).
He says:—"I very much doubt the possibility of making certain of being able to flood the Tunnel by the explosion of a mine in the Tunnel itself. The Tunnel is to have, I understand, a depth of about 200 feet beneath the bottom of the sea. With what sort of a mine or mines is it proposed to blow an opening from the Tunnel into the sea, through that amount of rock or densely compressed chalk?" And again he asks, " What certainty can we have that the mines will explode when required?" (p. 215).
"But the greatest of all dangers to which the construction of this Tunnel will lay us open, is that one end of it may be seized by surprise or treachery, without any warning, and before the machinery designed for its destruction had been put in motion" (p. 215).
"It must be remembered that the works at our end of the Tunnel may be surprised by men sent through the Tunnel itself, without landing a man upon out shores. A couple of thousand armed men might easily come through the Tunnel in a train at night, avoiding all suspicion by being dressed as ordinary passengers" and the fort at our end of the Tunnel might so fall into the hands of an enemy (p. 216).
(2.)—Evidence before Mr. Farrer's Committee.
"By the construction of a Tunnel between England and France you destroy the great defence of the country upon which we have hitherto depended, namely, you destroy the value of the channel. You join us on to the Continent and we must when so joined on to the Continent, sooner or later, if we wish to remain an independent people, become like the Continental nations a military power," involving military service and enormous expense (p. 220).
"I have seen a series of the most carefully planned mines one after the other refuse to explode" (p. 221).
"We have in the past depended chiefly for our defence upon the Channel, and upon our fleet, and the proposed scheme annuls the use of both" (p. 221).
