can be pointed out, except a few which have been put under the management of civil engineers, that is not defective in the most essential particulars.

Who is to blame for this? Not the Government, because the business is not in its hands. The leading men of the commercial and manufacturing classes, who have been chiefly concerned in forming companies for making canals, docks, bridges, and other splendid improvements, are not to blame, for they have been too generally excluded from the business of road management. Nor are the civil engineers of Great Britain to blame, because they have seldom been consulted on the contrary, this profession has been too commonly deemed, by turnpike trustees, as something rather to be avoided, than as useful and necessary to be called to their assistance.

The country gentlemen of England, in point of fact, are alone responsible for the defective state of the roads, because the business of managing them has been vested by the legislature exclusively in their hands.

Dr. Adam Smith bears testimony to the bad management of road trustees in his time. He says: "The money levied is more than double of what is necessary for executing, in the completest manner, the work, which is often executed

in a very slovenly manner, and sometimes not executed at all." This remark, in too many cases, is just as applicable now, as it was when first made, nearly sixty years ago.

In those instances where a turnpike road is used merely for local purposes, however defective it may be, those persons only are put to inconvenience who live near it; but, where a turnpike road forms the communication between populous cities or towns, at a considerable distance from each other, then the misconduct of trustees, whether arising from negligence, ignorance, or corruption, is of serious importance, and loudly calls for correction and control.

We shall now proceed to state what appear to be the principal errors which have been committed in our road legislation in giving effect to the turnpike system.

According to the provisions of every Turnpike Act, a great number of persons are named as trustees: the practice is to make almost every one a trustee, residing in the vicinity of a road, who is an opulent farmer or tradesman, as well as all the nobility and persons of large landed property; so that a trust seldom consists of fewer than 100 persons, even if the length of the road to be maintained by them does not exceed a few miles. The result of this practice

is, that in every set of trustees there are to be found persons who do not possess a single qualification for the office; persons who conceive they are raised by the title of a road trustee to a station of some importance; and who, too often, seek to show it, by opposing their superiors in ability and integrity, when valuable improvements are under consideration; taking care, too frequently, to turn their authority to account, by so directing the spending of the road money as may best promote the interests of themelves or their connections.

It sometimes happens that if one trustee, more intelligent and more public spirited than the rest, attempts to take a lead, and proposes a measure in every way right and proper to be adopted, his ability to give advice is questioned, his presumption condemned, his motives suspected; and as every such measure will, almost always, have the effect of defeating some private object, it is commonly met either by direct rejection, or some indirect contrivance for getting rid of it. In this way intelligent and public spirited trustees become disgusted, and cease to attend meetings; for, besides frequently experi encing opposition and defeat at the hands of the least worthy of their associates, they are annoyed by the noise, and language with which the dis

cussions are carried on, and feel themselves placed in a situation in which they are exposed to insult and ill usage.

Numerous cases could be quoted to prove the accuracy of what is here stated; but it is unnecessary to do so, because every one acquainted with the subject, who reads these remarks, will readily allow their general correctness, and be prepared to admit that the sketch might easily have been still more highly coloured.

There is one effect of having these large bodies of managers, which is particularly deserving of notice, and that is the necessary want of uniformity and system in their measures. It often happens that, when some important business is to be performed, one set of ten or twenty trustees, after devoting a great deal of their time in attending meetings, finally decide upon some useful measure, when another set of trustees summon a meeting, and rescind all their fellow trustees have done. This is a course of proceeding which is, of itself, sufficient to establish, beyond all dispute, the absolute necessity of some considerable change in the existing sys

tem.

Notwithstanding the state of the turnpike roads was enquired into by select committees of the House of Commons in the sessions of 1819,

1820, and 1823, and in consequence of their reports a new general Turnpike Act was passed in 1823, the evil of the mal-administration of the powers of trustees has not been cured by the 153 clauses contained in this act. The evil, in point of fact, having its source in the principle on which the governing body of road business is formed, is not of a nature to be cured by a multitude of regulations; and the framers of the law committed a great error in overlooking this point. It is the principle of having such a number of trustees that throws every thing belonging to road operations into confusion, and produces the waste of the road funds. A law, therefore, to do any good, should provide that the number of trustees shall be limited within some rational bounds.

The committee of the House of Commons, appointed in 1823 to enquire into the state of the turnpike roads say, in their report, "Your Committee would therefore strongly recommend to the House the consideration of the subject of making and managing the roads of the kingdom in the course of the ensuing session of parliament; feeling convinced, that whatever plausible appearance the plan may assume of appointing a large number of noblemen, gentlemen, farmers, and tradesmen, commissioners