THE CHANNEL BRIDGE.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE SPECTATOR-1
SIR,—I must beg that you will correct the statement in reference to M. Boutet's bridge, which appeared in your article of the 31st ult. It is Mr. Boyd's bridge not M. Boutet's, which Captain Tyler says is estimated to cost £30,000,000. The estimate for M. Boutet's is £8,000,000. Again, Captain Tyler does not say in his report that he does not believe in the feasibility of M. Boutet's bridge, but that he has not been able to convince himself of its feasibility, which is a very different thing, as his report shows that he has not had the means of forming an opinion upon it, which, in fact, it is impossible for any one to do without the plans, which are not yet published. What he does say is :—
" Of the various projects, those which have of late made the most progress are the Bridge scheme of M. Boutet, and the Tunnel scheme ;" and further :—
" In the case of M. Boutet's Bridge scheme, an association has been formed for making experiments, two small bridges have been built in France, and arrangements are made near St. Maio, for a third, a mile in length, to bo constructed in two spans of half a mile each. The Emperor Napoleon visited the works of M. Boutet, on a site which has been granted by the French Government, on the 8th inst., and his Majesty is stated to have expressed himself favourably with regard to the project.
"This bridge is intended to cross from Dover to Blancnez, and is advocated, in a paper forwarded on the 27th Tune to the Board of Trade, as (1) being less costly than a tunnel, (2) occupying less time in construction, (3) giving no trouble in ventilation, (4) avoiding the danger of sudden intindatione."
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