58 Discussion on the Proposed Channel Tunnel. 



bility of the British shareholder, who has thrown away his 

 money madly in the world. 



The reason why the Government should throw away their 

 money, is that the tunnel would be a bond of poHtical union 

 between the countries, and would break down all existing 

 prejudices between England and Ireland, but this is very 

 doubtful indeed. At a time when thousands of Irish patriots 

 are sighing to break the last link that binds green Erin to the 

 hated vSaxon, would it be wise to make a lo-million link that 

 any dynamite martyr could destroy in as many minutes ? 



Professor FitzGerald said : — I greatly prefer Mr. Maxton's 

 scheme to the others. The necessity, which they involve, of 

 going in for complete borings right through, points to the great 

 advantage of any scheme in which the preliminary expenses 

 will be diminished, and in which the results of preliminary 

 investigation will be more certain than those of a mere heading- 

 boring run through. 



Mr. Maxton's scheme has been objected to chiefly from the 

 point of view of civil engineers, who have a constitutional 

 fondness for bricks and mortar. Yet no colossal bridge was ever 

 made till the mechanical engineer had been brought into play; 

 and if things had always been done on the steady old brick and 

 mortar plan, neither the Severn nor the Mersey tunnel would 

 ever have been made. Objection has been made to the 

 difficulty of hauling 400 feet lengths of Mr. Maxton's tube into 

 position. As I understand Mr. Maxton, there is no inherent 

 necessity for such great lengths. But the difficulties of getting 

 a ship 400 feet long into its place, when heavy moorings have 

 been previously laid down, are not so very great. The thing 

 can be done, and has been done with much more difficult 

 things to move. Sections of bridges, mounted on three or four 

 barges, raised 40 or 50 feet above the barges, have been hauled 

 into position in any circumstances short of a gale. 



As to depreciation of the tube, there should be no difficulty 

 in making a kind of dry dock that could be moved about along 

 the tube, enabling any part of the outside to be got at from 



