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SKETCH III.

Plan for improving and preserving in order the HIGHWAYS in Scotland.

PREFAC E.

Highways have in Scotland become a capital object of police, by 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 conviction in various attempts, public and private, to establish this valuable branch of police upon the best footing. As this will be found no easy task, it may reasonably be hoped, that men of genius will feriously apply themselves to it, and in general that every person 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 proposals that have been or shall be published, an effective plan can be framed, fuch as completely to answer its purpofe, 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.

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VOL. II.

3 R

1. The

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I.

TH

HE juftices of peace, commiffioners of fupply, the sheriff or stewart depute, and the first magistrate of royal boroughs, fhall be commiffioners for making and repairing highways, bridges, and ferries, in the feveral fhires and stewartries. All the powers given by law to the juftices of peace, and commiffioners of fupply, with respect to highways, bridges, and ferries, thall be transferred to them; and any two shall be a quorum, except where a greater number is required by this act.

2. The fheriff or stewart depute shall 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 parishchurch upon a Sunday at the clofe of the forenoon-fervice. And the last Tuesday of March fhall yearly thereafter be a day of meeting at the head borough of the fhire or stewartry, 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 first meeting, fhall fet about a divifion of the fhire or ftewartry into two or more diftricts, as they fee convenient. And if they cannot overtake this work at that meeting, they shall 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 these several 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 thofe that are the most frequented. The proceedings of thefe 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 heri

tors;

tors; and alfo to add any road that may have been omitted. And they fhall record a fcheme or plan of the whole roads in the fhire, thus enlifted, with their refolutions thereupon, to be feen in the clerk's hands gratis. But upon any just cause appearing in the courfe of administration, the commiffioners fhall be empowered to alter or vary this plan, provided it be at a meeting previously appointed for that purpose, and where three fifths at leaft of the commiffioners are prefent.

4. If the sheriff or stewart neglect to appoint the first 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 sheriff or ftewart, or fail to divide the fhire or stewartry into districts, within fix months of their first 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 several 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 variance 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 himself. And he fhall be indemnified of whatever expences he is at in prosecuting the said 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 statute, but who has an estate within the county of L. 200 Scots valuation, or is heir-prefumptive to fuch an eftate, or is named a commiffioner virtute officii, under the penalty of L. 20 Sterling toties quoties, to 3 R 2

be

be profecuted before any competent court, by a popular action, with cofts of fuit; the one half to the plaintiff, the other half to the purposes of this act.

6. Whereas the fum of 10 d. directed by the act 1669 to be impofed upon each L. 100 of valued rent, is infufficient for the purpofes therein expreffed; and whereas the fix days ftatute-work for repairing the highways is in many respects inconvenient; therefore instead of the 10 d. and instead of the ftatute-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 said last Tuesday of March, affefs each heritor in a fum not exceeding

upon each

L. 100 valued rent; the affeffment imposed on the heritors to be levied by the collector of supply, along with the cess, and by the fame legal remedies. The heritors are entitled to relieve themfelves of the one half of the faid affeffment, 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 respect to boroughs of royalty, regality, and barony, and large trading villages, the commiffioners are empowered to levy from each householder, a fum not exceeding 2 s. 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 these householders who have country-farms, by which they contribute to relieve their landlords as above mentioned, fhall be exempted from part of the affeffment.

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8. If the commiffioners and heritors neglect to assess their fhire, or name fo finall 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

the highest affeffment that is made lawful by this act. In case of a total omiffion, the commiffioners and heritors who, by neglecting to convene without a good cause of absence, have occafioned the said omiffion, fhall be fubjected each of them to a penalty of L. 20 Sterling. And to make these penalties effectual, the trustees for fisheries and manufactures 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 preserve the said fines entire for the public fervice, the trustees fhall be entitled to costs of fuit.

9. The fums levied as aforefaid fhall 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 settled in each fhire and stewartry.

10. With respect to roads that are not the firft in order, and for which there is no interim provifion by this act during reparation of the more frequented roads, the commiffioners are impowered to exact from cottars and day-labourers their statute-work according to the acts prefently in force, to be applied to those fecondary roads. The ftatute-work is not to be demanded unlefs for this purpose; and is to ceafe totally after the highways have, by means of the prefent act, been once totally repaired.

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 sheriff, to caft 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 purpose the com

miffioners

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