The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1882-10-15

~ piooeht h8ainst tne tunnel, IL must
not be supposed that the enterprise
has lacked sturdy defenders, not only
among those alive to It's commercial
utility. but among highly respected
members Of the military profession. II is
contended for example, by Col. BEAUMONT,
that Of the three arguments Just mentioned.
the first alone is grounded upon factss, while
It's weight is Insignificant comnsred with the
advantages derivable froT submarine COM
munication with the Continent. As for the
second argument, he insists that 1t Is at once
disposed Of by rcfuting the third, while the
third itself no pronounces scarcely worthy OF
serious consideration. He admits that 1t
might be necessary to somewhat further
strengthen the defences OF Dover, the Eng
fish terminus Of the tunnel, although the
Notifications at that place are already
deemed well nigh impregnable But how
long, he asks, would it take TO Offset the out
lay for such additional works by the money
saved through the continuous transport of
goods destined for the Continent-goods
which now have to be shipped on one side Of
the Channel, unahipped on the other, and re-
shipped in the freight cars Of Continental
railways2 As for the outcrics for more
ornaments, caused by panic terror of in
vasion, these, he thinks, would be perma-
nently silenccd by conviction that any dan
ger from that source was quite impossible.
He gives at some length his reasons for
deeminS the apprehensons OF an attack
through the tunnel entirely chimerical. 1t
is admitted by the opponents Of the project
that no Continental power would send body
OF troops through the submarine avenue UNI
less they had control Of the English end.
They could only get control Of it in two
ways, first, by treachery and surprise, and
secondly, by main force through having a
command Of the sea, which would imply the
ability to disembark land force adequate to
the capture Of Dover. AS to the first alter
native, Col. BEAUMONT submits that it Is pre-
posterous to suppose that Englands vigil
lance, which for centuries has protected
hundreds OF miles of seacoast, could
not protect a small hole in the ground.
He reminds us. too, that the Eng
fish entrance to the tunnel would be out
side of the Notifications OF Dover, and would
be commanded at once by the guns Of those
works and the guns Of English war ships In
the harbor. Suppose, therefore, that the
precautions taken to secure the terminus it.
self were frustrated-a supposition which he
deems hardly notwithstanding would
have been gained by an invader, unless he
could at the same time gain possession OF the
Dover fortress and silence the vessels In the
bay. We must bear in mind that the promot-
ers Of the enterprise have offered from the
outset to provide arrangements for obstruct-
ing and, IL need be, blowing up the tunnel, to
be worked not only. from the terminus proper,
but from point within the Notifications.
1t would, therefore, be impracticable for
any Continental power to avail itself of the
Channel tunnel, unless it had first gained
possession Of the Dover fortress; and this it
could only do through an ascendancy at sea.
But II France or Germany, or both combined,
should become masters Of the British Chan
mel, and were disposed to use their maritime
predominance against England, 1t would
matter little whether or not tunnel were in
existence. England was successfully in
vaded three or four times after the epoch
when JOHN Of Gaunt is supposed by SHAKE
sPEARE to have uttered his famous vaunt 1t
Is not her insular situation, but her naval
supremacy; not her rocky Shore" but her
wooden walls" that have made England
invincible; and to say that the tunnel might
prove dangerous In case the English navy
should ever be vanquished at sea, furnishes
no argument at all against submarine COM
munication. Col. BEAUMONT points out that,
even in such q case, 1t could not constitute
an additional element Of peril, for between
the landing Of an army and the surrender Of
Dover there would be ample time for the
destruction Of tho tunnel by the means pro-
vided for that end and operated from within
the fortress.
1t is by such considerations that Col BEAU
MONT and other friends Of the project try to
meet what they call the "hobgoblin argu-
ments" and "Cassandra cries" of their op-
ponents. They have thus far failed In check
ing the drift Of public feeling, which is likely,
as we have said, to prevent for some time
any further progress with the work. But
now that the feasibility Of the tunnel has
been demonstrated, It's ultimate accomplish
ment Is as certain as the triumph Of the in
dustrial over the militant spirit in the gov
eminent Of civilized and enlightened world.