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THE CHANNEL TUNNEL. 
By W. TOPLEY, F.G.S., Assoc. Inst. C.E., 
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OE ENGLAND. 
[PLATE CXIV.] 
T HERE have not been wanting men who held that, in some 
respects, onr forefathers were better off than ourselves, 
notwithstanding all the triumphs of modern science and civi- 
lisation. In one particular, at least, the primitive inhabi- 
tants of Western Europe are to be envied. The men who 
waged war with the ancient British lion, the cave bear, or the 
hairy mammoth, had no need to cross the sea if they wished to 
extend their hunting-grounds far to the east. Similarly, the 
old inhabitant of central France could as easily, if he so chose, 
follow the hippopotamus in his migrations to the Thames. For, 
in those old times — as there is good reason for believing — a 
band of Chalk extended across what is now the Straits of 
Dover, and the area now known as the British Isles was united 
to the continent of Europe. 
How long ago it may be since this old “ bridge ” was broken 
w T e cannot know. Probably no Englishman will regret that the 
bridge was broken, and few will wish it wholly restored. But, 
certainly, most of those who have occasion to cross the Channel 
will wish that we could again have the personal convenience of 
continuous land communication, without the political disad- 
vantages which such communication would involve. Modern 
civil engineering has resolved to attack this problem. Some of 
the proposals for accomplishing it we will presently examine. 
The plans which have been advanced for lessening the incon- 
veniences of the Channel passage have taken various shapes. 
It would be impossible, within the limits of a short article, to 
go over them all; we will therefore confine our attention to 
those schemes which propose to solve the difficulty by con- 
structing a submarine tunnel. Proposals not falling under this 
head are various enough. Embankments, bridges, and tubes, 
in one form or other, have been proposed ; but the scheme 
which seems to have found most favour, with engineers and with 
the public, is that of a tunnel. 
The idea of constructing a tunnel between England and 
France seems to have originated with a French engineer, M. 
