Discussion on the Proposed Channel Tunnel. 53 



Mr. Maxton said : — One of the objections I have to entering 

 minutely into the consideration of this subject is that I am the 

 proposer of a rival scheme to those mentioned this evening — 

 viz., the submerged bridge. I am greatly surprised at the little 

 information the previous speakers have given as to the details 

 of the engineering question ; speaking purely and simply as an 

 engineer, not as a commercial man. Before saying anything 

 with regard to the submerged bridge I should like to mention 

 a few matters which it will be well to consider before contem- 

 plating the construction of any such tunnels as those under 

 consideration. The first subaqueous tunnel of any consequence 

 was that under the Thames, the construction of which was 

 attended with disaster. It was closed for fourteen years, and 

 cost two millions per mile. This is not an encouraging outlook 

 for the proposed tunnel. The Severn Tunnel is the next case I 

 will refer to. It took thirteen years to complete the four and a 

 third miles of this tunnel, two of which are under water. The 

 undertaking was abandoned for eighteen months, but was 

 completed by the late Mr. Thomas Walker, one of the most 

 remarkable contractors the world has ever seen. The tunnel 

 cost between ;^400,ooo and ^500,000 per mile. At the present 

 time the working expenses are enormous, and I am informed 

 that the pumping engines alone consume about a thousand tons 

 of coal per month. The water pressure is about sixty-four 

 pounds to the square inch. I can speak personally of the 

 Mersey Tunnel, which has been constructed on the most modern 

 principles, by the most modern machinery, and cost ;^5oo,ooo 

 per mile. In my estimation it would cost a somewhat similar 

 sum per mile to construct the proposed tunnel. The passenger 

 traffic through the Mersey Tunnel is enormous — 130 trains a 

 day each way — yet the company has not paid a dividend up to 

 the present. The pumping, ventilation, and lighting absorb 

 over twenty per cent, of the gross income. One and a quarter 

 miles per annum was the quickest advance made in the con- 

 struction of this particular tunnel, and at this rate it would take 

 fifteen years to drive the shortest proposed channel tunnel, 



