Now that so many of the conditions that have made for England's traditional economic, military, and cultural insularity have gradually subsided, like the ancient Wealden Island that once lay in what is now the Strait of Dover, the question of connecting Britain physically to the Continent is at last in the realm of practical political possibility. In spite of all her misgivings about the abandonment of her privileged relationships with the countries of the British Commonwealth, it seems as though Britain has no choice ahead but to throw in her lot with the Common Market, which has proved itself to be such an astonishing success in its four years of existence. Since 1958, when the special trade arrangements between the countries of the European Economic Community went into effect, up to 1960, their industrial production increased by 22 per cent, while Britain's industrial production increased only 11 per cent. And it has been estimated that by 1970 the Gross National Product of the Common Market countries will double that of 1961. This estimate does not take into account Britain's joining the Common Market, either; when she does so, as it seems she must, the Common Market boom will be a spectacular one; the member countries will then be serving a market of more than 200 million people. Precisely what Britain's entry into the Common Market would mean in terms of increased commercial intercourse between Britain and the Continent no one knows, but the increase plainly would be enormous, and considering this potentiality, proponents of the Channel tunnel are not backward in claiming that Britain's present cross-Channel transportation facilities are grossly inadequate to meet the demands ahead. They are even inadequate, the pro-tunnelers claim, for coping with Britain's present needs. As things stand, some 8 million passengers and about 400,000 vehicles cross the Channel in a year. Of these, 3.3 million passengers and about 100,000 vehicles go by air. Most of this traffic crisscrosses the Channel in the four peak summer months and results in severe bottlenecks in the existing means of communication. (A motorist who wishes to take his car abroad either by air or sea-ferry during the peak season must book a passage some months ahead of time, and if he can't make it on the assigned date "he runs the risk," as one of the tunnel promoters has put it, "of being marooned on this island for several more months.") Even without taking into account Britain's probable entry into the Common Market, the number of vehicles crossing Britain and the Continent probably will double itself by 1965.