THE CHANNEL TUNNEL.
[To rum EDITOR Orr •'srsevsros."] SIR,—Many of ns must be wondering what the promoters of the Channel Tunnel enterprise think about the matter now. To those of us who are of the "Island" school it has always appeared that there were three main objections to the scheme —first, the risk of panic and of the evils that arise from panic ; secondly, the real danger involved; and thirdly, the fact that in creating a tunnel we should be giving a hostage to fortune. A mere layman cannot set forth adequately the risks that the existence of a tunnel might have involved in the present war; but his guesses may not be altogether devoid of suggestive- ness. Had Belgium fallen in with the German proposals, Geisha might before now have been in the hands of the Germans. Then think of the panic that might have arisen through fears of what the Germans might have been doing in times of peace at this end, through bribery or through the introduction of "enemies in our midst" among the employees. Again, from what we know of German methods, fears lest the enemy should secure the tunnel against flooding by loading up their trains with "hostages," and should then attack Dover by the undersea route, would not have been altogether unreasonable; and such fears, even if not well founded, would have caused panic. And, finally, the existence of the tunnel might well have caused a successful raid on Dover to mean the mastery of England—assuming that the tunnel had been secured from destruction by the "hostage" device. It is true that, as things have turned out, Calais is not in German hands, and that a tunnel would have enabled us to transport our troops to France more easily. Still, weighing advantages against dangers, which side of the balance kicks the beam ? I cannot but think that the " Island" school will gain converts, [We cannotagree. It seems to us that better submarine*
• and improved aircraft may bar the use of narrow waters like the Channel to our ships. In that case a tunnel might be invaluable.—En. Spectator.]
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