SKETCH III.

PLAN FOR IMPROVING AND PRESERVING IN ORDER THE HIGHWAYS IN SCOTLAND.

PREFACE.

Highways have in Scotland become a capital object of police, bý the increase of inland commerce, upon which bad roads are a heavy tax. Happily for our country, no perfon is ignorant of this truth; and we fee with pleasure the fruits of their convic tion in various attempts, public and private, to establifa this valuable branch of police upon the best footing. As this will be found no eafy task, it may reasonably be hoped, that men of genius will seriously apply themselves to it, and in general that every perfon will freely produce fuch hints as occur to them. In the latter view the following plan is offered to the public and if, from the various propofals that have been or fhall be published, an effective plan can be framed, such as completely to answer its purpose, it may fafely be pronounced, that it will produce more benefit to this country, than has been produced by any other fingle improvement fince the union of the two kingdoms.

1. THE juftices of peace, commiffioners of fupply, the fheriff or ftewart depute, and the first magiftrate of royal boroughs, fhall be commiffioners for making and repairing highways, bridges, and ferries, in the feveral fhires and ftewartries. All the powers given by law to the justices of peace, and commiffioners of fupply, with respect to highways, bridges, and ferries, fhall be transferred to them; and any two fhall be a quorum, except where a greater number is required by this act.

2. The fheriff or ftewart depute fhall appoint the first day of meeting of the faid commiffioners, as foon as may conveniently be after the date of the act, by an intimation at each parish church upon a Sunday at the close of the forenoon fervice. And the laft Tuesday of March fhall

yearly thereafter be a day of meeting at the head borough of the fhire or ftewartry, in place of the first or third Tuesday of May appointed by former acts. The commiffioners fhall appoint a prefes, convener, and clerk: and they fhall be impowered to adjourn themselves from time to time.

3. The commiffioners, at their firft meeting, shall set about a divifion of the fhire or stewartry into two or more diftricts, as they fee convenient. And if they cannot overtake this work at that meeting, they fhall appoint proper perfons to form a plan of the intended divifions, which plan fhall be reported to the commiffioners at their next meeting, in order to be approved or altered by them. This being fettled, the commiffioners fhall appoint the heritors in thefe feveral diftricts, or any three of them, to meet on a certain day and place, to make lifts of the whole public roads within their refpective diftricts, and to fettle the order of reparation, beginning with those that. are the most frequented. The proceedings of these diftrict meetings must be reported to the commiffioners at their next meeting; who are empowered to fettle the order of reparation, in cafe of variance among the heritors and alfo to add any road that may have been omitted. And they fhall record a scheme or plan of the whole roads in the fhire, thus enlifted, with their refolutions thereupon, to be seen in the clerk's hands gratis. But upon any juft caufe appearing in the courfe of adminiftration, the commiffioners fhall be empowered to alter or vary this plan, provided it be a meeting previously appointed for that purpose, and where three-fifths at leaft of the com miffioners are present.

4. If the fheriff or ftewart neglect to appoint the firt meeting of the commiffioners, he fhall incur a penalty of L.100, upon a fummary complaint to the court of feffion by any one heritor of the fhire; with cofts of fuit, the one half to the plaintiff, and the other half to be applied by the commiffioners for the purposes of this act. If the commiffioners fail to meet at the day appointed by the fheriff or ftewart, or fail to divide the fhire or stewar try into diftricts, within fix months of their firft meeting,

the fheriff or stewart depute, under the forefaid penalty, fhall be bound to do that work himself; and alfo to appoint the heritors in the feveral districts, or any three of them, to make lifts of the public roads as above mentioned, and to report their refolutions to him; and he is empowered to fettle the order of reparation, in cafe of va riance among the heritors. If the heritors fail to meet, and to make a lift of the roads as aforefaid, this work fhall be performed by the fheriff or ftewart depute himfelf. And he fhall be indemnified of whatever expences he is at in profecuting the faid work, out of the fums that are to be levied by authority of this act, in manner after mentioned, with an additional fum for his own trouble, to be named by the circuit judges.

5. No perfon fhall act as a commiffioner upon this ftatute, but who has an eftate within the county of L.200 Scots valuation, or is heir prefumptive to fuch an estate, or is named a commiffioner virtute officii, under the penalty of L.20 fterling toties quoties, to be profecuted before any competent court, by a popular action, with coits of fuit; the one half to the plaintiff, the other half to the purposes of this act.

6. Whereas the fum of 10d. directed by the act 1669 to be impofed upon each L.100l. of valued rent, is infufficient for the purposes therein expreffed; and whereas the fix days ftatute-work for repairing the highways is in many refpects inconvenient; therefore inftead of the Iod. and inftead of the statute-work, the commiffioners, together with the heritors poffeffed of L.200 Scots of valued rent, five, whether commiffioners or heritors, making a quorum, fhall annually upon the faid laft Tuesday of March, affefs each heritor in a fum not exceeding

upon each L.100 valued rent; the affeffment impofed on the heritors to be levied by the collector of fupply, along with the cefs, and by the fame legal remedies. The he ritors are entitled to relieve themselves of the one half of the said assessment, by laying the fame upon their tenants, in proportion to their rents: an heritor being always confidered as a tenant of the land he has in his natural poffeffion.

7. With refpect to boroughs of royalty, regality, and barony, and large trading villages, the commiffioners are empowered to levy from each householder, a fum not exceeding 2s. yearly, more or lefs in proportion to the affeffment of the fhire, to be paid within forty days after notice given, under the penalty of double, befides expence of procefs. Provided, that any of thefe householders who have country farms, by which they contribute to relieve their landlords as above mentioned, shall be exempted from this part of the affeffment.

8. If the commiffioners and heritors neglect to affess their fhire, or name fo small a fum as to be an elufory affeffment, infufficient to answer the purposes of this act, the court of Jufticiary, or the circuit judges, are in that cafe empowered and required to lay on the higheft affefsment that is made lawful by this act. In cafe of a total omiffion, the commiffioners and heritors who, by neglecting to convene without a good caufe of abfence, have occafioned the fame omiffion, shall be subjected each of them to a penalty of L. 20 Sterling. And to make thefe penalties effectual, the truftees for fifheries and manufac tures are appointed to fue for the fame before the court of feffion, and to apply the fame, when recovered, to any ufeful purpose within the fhire, efpecially to the purposes of this act. And to preferve the faid fines entire for the public fervice, the truftees fhall be entitled to cofts of fuit.

9. The fums levied as aforefaid shall be laid out annually upon the highways, bridges, and ferries, for making, repairing, or improving the fame; proceeding regularly with the reparation according to the scheme or plan ordered as above to be fettled in each fhire and stewartry.

10. With refpect to roads that are not the first in order, and for which there is no interim provision by this act during reparation of the more frequented roads, the commiffioners are impowered to exact from cottars and day-labourers their ftatute-work according to the acts presently in force, to be applied to thofe fecondary roads. The ftatute-work is not to be demanded unless for this purpose; and is to ceafe totally after the highways

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have, by means of the prefent act, been once totally re

paired.

11. The commiffioners and heritors, at all their meetings, fhall bear their own charges.

12. The claufe in the act 1661, empowering heritors, at the fight of the fheriff, to calt about highways for their convenience, fhall be repealed; and it fhall be declared unlawful, in time coming, to turn about or change any highway, unless for the benefit of the public, as by fhortening it, carrying it through firmer ground, or making it more level; and to that purpofe the commiffioners fhall be empowered to turn about highways, as alfo to widen the fame, not exceeding thirty feet, free of ditches. But the commiffioners fhall have no power to carry a road through any house, garden, orchard, or plea fure ground.

13. The commiffioners fhall have power to take from the adjacent lands, ftones, fand, gravel, or other mate rials for making the highways, paying always for the da mage done.

14. With refpect to high-roads which bound the properties of neighbouring heritors, and which it may be found neceffary to alter or widen, the commiffioners fhall be empowered to adjudge to one heritor any small bits of ground cut off from the other by the road fo altered; and if land cannot be given for land, to make a compenfation in money, valuing the land at the current price of the country.

15. In order to prevent water stagnating on the highways, the commiffioners fhall be impowered to make ditch. es or drains through neighbouring grounds; and fuch ditches or drains fhall be preferved entire by the proprietors of the land, or at their charges.

16. As the aforefaid affeffment, after repairing the highways, may not be fufficient for building bridges, or making ferries, where rivers are large; any five of the commiffioners may, for building bridges, or making ferries, eftablish a pontage or toll; fo much for horfes, fo much for horned cattle, and fo much for fheep, and the double for each beast in a wheel-carriage. Upon the credit of the