REMARKS ON ROADS.

The modes of making and repairing Roads are so various in the different parts of the kingdom, that it would be an endless task to attempt a particular account of each. It may, however, be possible to give a general idea of them, according to the materials produced in each part of the country.

In the neighbourhood of London, the roads are formed of gravel; in Essex and Sussex, they are formed of flint; in Wilts, Somerset, and Glocester, limestone is principally used; in the North of England, and in Scotland, whinstone is the principal material; and in Shropshire and Staffordshire, large pebbles mixed with sand.

Excellent roads may be made with any of these materials.

The gravel of which the roads round London are formed is the worst; because it is mixed with a large portion of clay, and because the component parts of gravel are round, and want the angular points of contact, by which broken stone unites, and forms a solid body; the loose state of the roads near London, is a consequence of this quality in the material, and of the entire neglect, or ignorance of the method of amending it.

A more careful examination of facts connected with the roads round London, has discovered several other causes, from whence proceeds the defective state of these roads. The greatest appears to be, the division of the roads into so many small Trusts, which precludes the possibility of any extended plan of operations, for the benefit of the whole. Before any one road round London can be properly reformed, and all wasteful expenditure restrained, a comprehensive view of the local situation of the whole district will be requisite.

Another great impediment to improvement, arises from the laws and regulations, which prevent a supply of good road materials, of several kinds, being brought to London by water, and landed in different places, convenient for the roads. Were these restrictions removed,as far as concerns stone, flint, or any ballast for road-making, London is so favorably situated for water carriage by the river, and by the canals connected with it, that a supply, equal to the wants of all the roads in the vicinity of London, might be obtained at a reasonable rate, and of good quality, so as to render the use of the bad gravel round the metropolis no longer necessary.[1]But this measure, to be performed in an economical, and efficient manner, must be done upon an extended scale; it must become one interest, directed by one select body of men of weight, ability, and character.

1. This must not be understood as conveying an opinion, that a good road may not be constructed with the London gravel, properly prepared and applied. The road at Reading, in Berkshire, has lately been made perfectly smooth, solid, and level, with a gravel inferior to that of London, and at less than it formerly cost. Carriages make no impression on this road, and it has remained good in all changes of weather. Nevertheless, a means having been discovered, by diligent enquiry, for importing flints, from a distance, the Reading road will, in future, be repaired with flint, at half the expence required to prepare the gravel of the neighbourhood.

A road near London may be made as smooth, solid, and easy for cattle to draw carriages over, as the road near Bristol; and the London roadso madewill last longer, and consequently be less expensive than the Bristol road, because the materials which may be obtained are more durable, and may be procured at less expence.

Flint makes an excellent road, if due attention be paid to the size; but from want of that attention, many of the flint roads are rough, loose, and expensive.

Limestone, when properly prepared and applied, makes a smooth, solid road, and becomes consolidated sooner than any other material; but from its nature is not the most lasting.

Whinstone is the most durable of all materials; and wherever it is well and judiciously applied, the roads are comparatively good and cheap.

The pebbles of Shropshire and Staffordshire, are of a hard substance, and only require a prudent application to be made good road materials.

On the other hand, the Scottish roads, made of the very best materials, which are abundant and cheap in every part of that country, are the most loose, rough, and expensive roads in the United Kingdom, owing to the unskilful use of the material.

Theformationof roads is defective in most parts of the country; in particular the roads round London, are made high in the middle, in the form of a roof, by which means a carriage goes upon a dangerous slope, unless kept on the very centre of the road.

These roads are repaired by throwing a large quantity of unprepared gravel in the middle, and trusting that, by its never consolidating, it will in due time move towards the sides.

When a road has been originally well made, it will be easily repaired. Such a road can never become rough, or loose; though it will gradually wear thin and weak, in proportion to the use to which it is exposed; the amendment will then be made, by the addition of a quantity of materials prepared as at first. As there will be no expense on such road, between the first making and each subsequent repair, except the necessary attention to the water-ways, and to accidental injuries, the funds will be no longer burdened with the unceasing expenditure, at present experienced, from continual efforts at repairing, without amendment of the roads.

There cannot be a doubt, that all the roads in the kingdom may be made smooth and solid, in an equal degree, and to continue so at all seasons of the year. Their durability will of course depend on the strength of the materials of which they may be composed, but they will all be good while they last, and the only question that can arise respecting the kind of materials, is one of time and expence, but never of the immediate condition of the roads.

The anxious provisions of the Legislature forpreservationof the roads have unfortunately taken precedence of measures for making roads fit to be travelled upon, or worth the care of being preserved. Will it be deemed presumptuous to propose, that some regulations may be adopted, for encouraging and promoting a better system of making roads, by eliciting the exertion of science, and by creating a set of officers of skill, and reputation, to superintend this most essential branch of domestic economy?

When roads are properly made, very few regulations are necessary for their preservation. It is certainly useful to make effectual provision for keeping clear the watercourses, for removing nuisances, and for the pruning of trees and hedges; for these purposes ample powers should be given to Commissioners; but the advantage of many existing regulations respecting wheeled carriages may very well be questioned. There can be no doubt that many of those regulations are oppressive to commerce and agriculture, by compelling an inconvenient construction of carriages.[2]The author hasnever observed any great difference of effect, on awell made road, by narrow or broad wheels; either of them will pass over a smooth, solid road, without leaving any visible impression: on rough, loose roads, the effect will certainly be different; but whether a loose and rough road can be amended by dragging an unwieldy carriage over it, or whether, if it were possible to amend roads by such means, it can be deemed the most economical for the nation at large, can hardly be subject of doubt.[3]

2. The increase of the breadth of the wheels, though in a greater proportion than that of the weights, is by no means a compensation for it; because the whole breadth in many instances, from the inequality of the ground, or the wheels, will not be brought to bear whenever it can, the first impression must be made by the nails, where they are prominent, perhaps by a single nail; or the bearing may happen upon single pieces of materials, or upon the edges of materials, incapable of supporting the weights.See Enquiry into the State of the Public Roads, by the Rev.Henry Homer,A. M. Rector of Birdlingbury, Warwickshire. Published in 1767, Page 66.It must be observed, that these remarks of Mr. Homer, and of every other writer on the subject of roads, are only applicable to such as are loose, rough, and uneven; and that no one seems to have contemplated the idea of a road being made at once strong, smooth, and solid.—Author.

It must be observed, that these remarks of Mr. Homer, and of every other writer on the subject of roads, are only applicable to such as are loose, rough, and uneven; and that no one seems to have contemplated the idea of a road being made at once strong, smooth, and solid.—Author.

3. Broad-wheeled carriages are found to be so unadapted to the purposes of husbandry, the number of horses requisite for their draught so great, and the beneficial effects of them to the road so questionable, that neither the encouragements on the one hand, nor the discouragements on the other, have been sufficient to bring them into general use.Homer’s Enquiry, Page 25.

Homer’s Enquiry, Page 25.

It must however be admitted, that the wear of roads is proportioned to the weight and velocity of carriages running upon a given breadth of the tire of the wheels, and therefore, it is ofconsequence that some regulations should be adopted. The best regulations, as regard the breadth of the tire of wheels, will be found in several Acts of the Session of Parliament 1816, where Carts are required to have wheels of a cylindrical form five inches broad; and Waggon Wheels of the same form six inches broad, with an equal upright bearing. The weights will be best and most easily regulated by the number of horses, or other cattle, drawing the carriages: and this, as a regulation of economy, may be made, by the tolls at present payable on the cattle being levied in a larger ratio as the number increases.

Waggons and carts with wheels of a cylindrical form and upright bearing, running on a breadth of tire of five and six inches, cannot injure a well made road, at the slow pace with which such carriages travel; at least, in any proportion beyond the toll they pay. On the contrary, it is certain, that Stage Coaches, with their present system of loading, and velocity of travelling upon very narrow wheels, damage the roads in a much greater proportion than the compensation derived from the toll.

Every wheel, propelled by a force applied to its centre of motion, as the axis of a carriage wheel, is disposed by its specific gravity, to bedragged forwards, instead of turning round; and the rotative motion is occasioned by the resistance presented by the surface over which it passes; yet this resistance does not entirely prevent dragging; for every wheel running upon a road drags in some degree. This degree will be proportioned to the weight of the carriage, and the velocity of the wheel upon its axis, and will be opposed by the breadth of the tire coming in contact with the road.

Stage Coaches, therefore, carrying heavy weights, moving with great velocity, and presenting to the road a narrow tire of wheel, must of necessity drag in a greater degree than any other carriage, as combining in themselves every cause by which dragging is produced.[4]

4. Above fifty Stage Coach journies are made daily betweenBristolandBath: the Author’s observation leads him to the conclusion, that the toll-duty paid by them, does not indemnify the funds for the wearing of the road.

When the Legislature shall have provided the means of putting all the roads in the United Kingdom into the best and fittest state for the accommodation of the agriculture and commerce of the country, they will naturally consider of the most proper modes of protecting them from injury, or for indemnifying thefunds for the effects of use which are unavoidable, by imposing toll duties in a just and equitable proportion on the carriages occasioning such injury.

PART SECOND.COMMISSIONERS AND OFFICERS EMPLOYED UNDER THEM.

The care of the Turnpike Roads has been committed by Parliament, into the hands of Commissioners, selected from that class of society, most capable of executing the duties of superintendance, and from their station most likely to perform the duty with fidelity; in this respect the expectations of the public has not been disappointed; and there can be but one opinion, upon the obligations the country owes to this very respectable part of the community. Perhaps the only useful regulation wanted, in respect to Commissioners, would be to confine the qualification of Trustees tolandedproperty.

The superintending and controuling power, so wisely placed by Parliament in the Commissioners, has not, however, been sufficient tosecure all the objects of the Legislature. A scientific, laborious, executive power is wanting; and no means having been thought of for this part of the service, it has been altogether neglected, or at best very unprofitably supplied by a set of Surveyors, altogether ignorant of the duties of the office they were called upon to fill.[5]

5. The general laws relating to highways seem sufficiently calculated to answer the purpose intended by them, if Overseers were qualified with a sufficient degree of judgment to execute them properly, and of industry and spirit to do it effectually.Homer’s Enquiry, Page 18.

Homer’s Enquiry, Page 18.

General superintendance and gratuitous services, such as the law contemplated to receive from the Commissioners of Turnpikes, may be obtained, and have been faithfully and conscientiously given by the Commissioners; but that constant and laborious attention, requisite to superintend the executive duties of a turnpike trust, cannot reasonably be expected from gentlemen engaged in other pursuits. Were they to undertake the task, it must be subject to all the interruptions of their private affairs, or other occupations; and this alone would render their services nugatory. Some instances of individual zeal and exertion, on the part of Commissioners, in particular parts of the country, have served to show what benefit might bederived from providing each county with an executive officer, whose sole attention should be given to the business; whose services should be amply remunerated, and of whom the Commissioners mightof rightdemand an account of the manner in which their orders were carried into execution; who should examine and audit the accounts of the Sub-surveyors; compare them with the work performed, and certify them, if approved, to the Treasurers.

In a trust of any extent, say about 150 miles of road, the time of such an officer would be very fully employed. He must direct the execution of the repairs, and alterations of the road, when ordered by the Commissioners; and he must controul the contracts, and other agreements entered into by the Sub-surveyors, so as to prevent unnecessary expence; he must examine all work performed, to see that it is corresponding with contracts, and generally keep a vigilant superintendance over the persons employed under him. Accounts of all expences incurred should every second week be delivered by the Sub-surveyors into his office in duplicate; after examination, one copy to remain in the office, the other certified, to be sent to the Treasurer, upon which payment may follow.

Much must depend on the selection of the officer to whom this charge is committed; he must have a considerable share of general information respecting country business; the subject of road-making ought to have been well considered by him; his station in society should be such, as to secure to him the support and confidence of the Commissioners, while it commands the obedience and deference of the subordinate officers.

The success of the exertions of individual Commissioners, in particular parts of the country first suggested the opinion, that a better system of road-making might be adopted, and the examples of a better practice extended to all parts of the country; but the benefit can never be rendered thus general, unless accompanied by the zeal and activity that produced it; and this can only be supplied by officers, whose sole duty it shall be, and who will be accountable to the Commissioners under whose orders they act for the execution of the trust confided to them. Gratuitous services are ever temporary and local, they are dependant on the residence, and life of the party; and have always disappointed expectation. Skill and executive labour must be adequately paid for, if expected to be constantly and usefully exerted;and if so exerted, the price is no consideration when compared with the advantage to the public.

From the want of such an officer, the orders of the Commissioners, after having been maturely considered, and wisely given, have fallen, for execution into the hands of Surveyors, selected not unfrequently from the lowest class of the community, who have proceeded without plan or method. The consequence is seen in every corner of the country; want of science in the Surveyor has gone hand in hand with improvident expenditure, to the injury of the roads, and the derangement of the finances. A vigilant and unremitting superintendance is wanting to ensure an economical and effectual execution.

Whether it may not be useful to empower Commissioners in the small Trusts into which the roads of England are unfortunately divided, to unite together in sufficient number to enable them to provide a respectable and efficient executive officer, and for other general purposes of improvement, is humbly submitted to the wisdom of Parliament.

The effect of an active and efficient controul over the Sub-surveyors, in the executive part of their duties; and in rescuing the funds frommis-application and depredation, is exemplified in the measures wisely entered into by the Commissioners for the care of the turnpike roads in theBristol District, the success of which has amply justified their adoption, the roads having been entirely reformed and put into the best possible state for use, at an expence considerably within the revenue of the Trust. This improved state of the finances has enabled the Commissioners to effect several great permanent improvements, without forgetting the necessary provision for liquidation of the debt, which had accumulated during former years.

PART THIRD.CARE OF THE FINANCES.

The funds placed by the Legislature at the disposal of the Commissioners for the care of turnpike roads are very considerable, and might be supposed with proper management, fully equal to the object; they arise principally from toll duties, and a proportion of statute labour.

As long as it shall be necessary to raise large sums for the maintenance of roads, the present means must continue; toll duties, although liable to many objections, are soimmediately, andeffectuallyproductive, that little hope can be entertained of the possibility of their being reduced, until a continuance of a better system shall have materially amended the roads, and reduced the expence, so as to leave means for extinguishing the heavy debt owing by the country for this branch of the public service.

Statute labour, in kind, was decreed by Parliament at a time, when no better means could be devised: when a circulating medium was deficient, and when a fair quantum of labour could not, in many parts of the country, be obtained for money.

Personal labour for a public service can never be made profitable, or fairly productive; at the same time, it is liable to the great objections of being made an instrument of partiality and oppression under the direction of a class of men with whom such a power should never be lodged, and over whom, in this instance, no adequate controul can be placed.

The causes, which operated to induce Parliament to resort to personal service, having ceased, it will be found expedient to commute statute labour for a moderate assessment in money. This has been effected with great advantage in Scotland, by most, if not all of the local and county Acts for turnpike roads.[6]

6. It is impossible not to see that statute labour is a remnant of personal service; a gentleman might as well argue at the present day, that rents paid in kind, are more easy and equitable than monied rents, as to defend the custom of mending highways by compulsory labour.Edgeworth’s Essay on the Construction ofRoads and Carriages, p. 46.

Edgeworth’s Essay on the Construction ofRoads and Carriages, p. 46.

Edgeworth’s Essay on the Construction of

Roads and Carriages, p. 46.

The sum of money annually raised in the kingdom for roads is very great, and wouldbe found, if carefully examined into, much beyond the general belief. Government have procured information, as to the sum raised annually forparishroads (generally denominated highways) but they have not yet enquired into the amount of the much greater sum raised for the maintenance of theturnpikeroads, nor into the amount of the debt incurred for the same purpose.

These funds, considerable as they are, continue to be expended,nominally, under the direction of Commissioners, buteffectuallyandpracticallyunder the Surveyors, over whom the Commissioners have very uncertain means of useful controul; and there is no doubt, that much abuse exists in the expenditure, partly from ignorance, but much more from peculation and patronage very much misplaced.

Under such circumstances the protection of the funds would be promoted by the inspection and controul of a superior officer; and finally it might be desirable, that a report from each trust should be made to Parliament of the receipt and expenditure for the year.

That the funds provided by Parliament for the roads are either insufficient for the object, or that they are improvidently expended, is best proved by the numerous applications toParliament in every Session, for extension of powers and increase of tolls; setting forth that without such aid the debts cannot be paid, nor the roads kept in repair. In the Session of Parliament 1815, thirty-four such petitions were presented; and in the Session of 1816, thirty-two; all which bills were passedas a matter of course; the petitioners being only required to prove theactual necessityto the Committee, but no enquiry seems to have been made as to thecauseof that necessity.

An efficient, uniform and constant controul of the expenditure of road funds, and an annual report of the result to Parliament would enable the House of Commons to form a judgment, whether the deficiency proceeded from inadequacy of the means, or from improvident expenditure; and thereby that Honourable House would be enabled to use means for preventing the growing amount of debt, which the petitions presented each Sessions sufficiently shew to be increasing to an alarming degree; and which, being incurred under the authority of Parliament, must ultimately become a claim upon the justice of the country.

Upon consideration of this important subject it appears, that a review of the turnpike laws has become indispensable, for the purpose ofaltering and amending obsolete, useless, and oppressive regulations; and for substituting others more consonant with the present state of society. This review is required by experience of the inadequacy of the present system, to the great object of forming the best and easiest communications through every part of the country, with a due regard to economy; and for preventing the increase of a debt, which has been allowed,in silence, to accumulate to an extent, that will hardly be credited when properly and accurately ascertained.

Many and important improvements have originated from the good sense and zeal of individual Commissioners, or from particular district meetings, the good effects of which have been confined to the place of origin; such improvements have also ceased to operate, on the death or removal of their authors, and have been thereby finally lost, for want of a general superintendance, which would have an interest in the improvement of the whole.

The defective state of the roads, independent of the unnecessary expence, is oppressive on agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, by the increase of the price of transport, by waste of the labour of cattle, and wear of carriages, as well as by causing much delay of time.

Under an efficient and responsible executive department, established and directed by the wisdom of Parliament, this subject would be brought within the means of examination and regulation; and many local improvements, which have been confined to small districts, would be brought forward, and communicated generally for the public benefit.[7]

7. Since this Essay was written, I have visited England, and have found, on a journey of many hundred miles, scarcely twenty miles of well-made road. In many parts of the country, and especially round London, the roads are in a shameful condition. This must strike the public; and sooner or later the good sense of the English nation will feel the necessity of adopting some means of improvement.Edgeworth’s Essay, Preface, p. 7.In Ireland, the cross roads are generally better than the great roads, and comparing all the roads in that country with the roads in England, the shameful inferiority of the latter would evidently appear.Edgeworth’s Essay, p. 46.

Edgeworth’s Essay, Preface, p. 7.

In Ireland, the cross roads are generally better than the great roads, and comparing all the roads in that country with the roads in England, the shameful inferiority of the latter would evidently appear.

Edgeworth’s Essay, p. 46.

The Author has abstained from any notice of the parish roads; although their condition and the state of their funds, are more deplorable than that of the turnpike roads. The Legislative enactments for their maintenance and repair are so inadequate to the object, that they may be considered as being placed almost out of the protection of the law.

There can be no apparent good reason, why, such a distinction should be made between the two description of roads; and their being both placed under the care of the Commissioners, with the benefit of the scientific direction of a General Surveyor, would ensure an equal improvement of the parish roads.

The foregoing Remarks on Roads cannot be better concluded than by the following Extract from the Report of the Committee of the House of Commons in 1811.

“The many important advantages to be derived from amending the highways and turnpike roads of the kingdom need hardly be dwelt upon. Every individual in it would thereby find his comforts materially increased, and his interest greatly promoted. By the improvement of our roads, every branch of our agricultural, commercial, and manufacturing industry would be materially benefited. Every article brought to market would be diminished in price; the number of horses would be so much reduced, that by these, and other retrenchments, the expence of FIVE MILLIONS would be annually saved to the public. The expence of repairing roads, and the wear and tear of carriages and horses, would be essentially diminished; and thousands of acres, the produce of which is now wasted in feeding unnecessary horses, would be devoted to the production of food for man. In short, thepublic and private advantages, which would result from effecting that great object, the improvement of our highways and turnpike roads, are incalculable; though from their being spread over a wide surface, and available in various ways, such advantages will not be so apparent as those derived from other sources of improvement, of a more restricted and less general nature.”

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