the summer season, to apprehend all rogues, vagabonds, and night-walkers, and make them give an account of themselves. The constable may appoint watchmen, at his discretion, regulated by the custom of the place; and these, being his deputies, have for the time being the authority of their principal. But, with regard to the infinite number of other minute duties, that are laid upon constables by a diversity of statutes, I must again refer to Mr. Lambard and Dr. Burn; in whose compilations may be also seen, what powers and duties belong to the constable or tithing-man indifferently, and what to the constable only for the constable may do whatever the tithing-man may; but it does not hold e converso, the tithing-man not having an equal power with the constable.

V. We are next to consider the surveyors of the highways. Every parish is bound of common right to keep the high roads, that go through it, in good and sufficient repair; unless by reason of the tenure of lands, or otherwise, this care is consigned to some particular private person. From this burden no man was exempt by our ancient laws, whatever other immunities he might enjoy: this being part of the trinoda necessitas, to which every man's estate was subject; yiz. expeditio contra hostem, arcium constructio, et pontium reparatio. For, though the reparation of bridges only is expressed, yet that of roads also must be understood; as in the Roman law, ad instructiones reparationesque itinerum et pontium, nullum genus hominum nulliusque dignitatis ac venerationis meritis, cessare oporteth. And indeed now, for the most part, the care of the roads only seems to be left to parishes; that of bridges being in great measure devolved upon the county at large, by statute 22 Hen. VIII. c. 5. If the parish neglected these repairs, they might formerly, as they may still, be indicted for such their [358] neglect: but it was not then incumbent on any particular officer to call the parish together, and set them upon

h C. 11. 74. 4

this work; for which reason by the statute 2 & 3 Ph. & M. c. 8. surveyors of the highways were ordered to be chosen in every parish i.

THESE Surveyors were originally, according to the statute of Philip and Mary, to be appointed by the constable and church-wardens of the parish; but now they are constituted by two neighbouring justices, out of such inhabitants or others, as are described in statute 13 Geo. III. c. 78. and may have salaries allotted them for their trouble.

THEIR office and duty consists in putting in execution a variety of laws for the repairs of the public highways; that is, of ways leading from one town to another: all which are now reduced into one act by statute 13 Geo. III. c. 78. which enacts, 1. That they may remove all annoyances in the highways, or give notice to the owner to remove them; who is liable to penalties on non-compliance. 2. They are to call together all the inhabitants and occupiers of lands, tenements, and hereditaments within the parish, six days in every year, to labor in fetching materials or repairing the highways: all persons keeping draughts (of three horses, &c.) or occupying lands, being obliged to send a team for every draught, and for every 501. a year, which they keep or occupy; persons keeping less than a draught, or occupying less than 50%. a year, to contribute in a less proportion; and all other persons chargeable, between the ages of eighteen and sixty-five, to work or find a laborer. But they may compound with the surveyors, at certain easy rates established by the act. And every cartway leading to any market-town must be made twenty feef wide at the least, if the fences will permit ;

i This office, Mr. Dalton (just. cap. 50.) says, exactly answers that of the curatores viarum of the Romans; but it should seem that theirs was an office of rather more dig nity and authority than ours; not only from comparing the method of making and mend.

ing the Roman ways with those of our country parishes; but also because one Thermus, who was the curator of the Flaminian way, was candidate for the consulship with Julias Cæsar. (Cic. ad Attic. I. 1. ep. 1.)

and may be increased by two justices, at the expense of the parish, to the breadth of thirty feet (21). 3. The surveyors may lay out their own money in purchasing materials for

(21) Two justices, where they think it will render the road more commodious, may order it to be diverted; the power to enlarge does not extend to pull down any building; or to take in the ground of any garden, park, paddock, court, or yard.

No tree or bush shall be permitted to grow in any highway, within fifteen feet from the centre of it, except for ornament or shelter to a house; and the owners of the adjoining lands may be compelled to cut their hedges, so as not to exclude the sun and wind from the highway. Fines awarded by the court for not repairing a highway, shall not be returned into the exchequer, but shall be applied to the repair of the highways as the court shall direct.

But the general highway act, the 13 Geo. III. and the subsequent regulations made by the 34 Geo. III. c. 74. are far too long to give an adequate representation of them in an abridgment. Those who are interested in the subject must consult the Statutes at Large, or the title, Highway, in Burn's Justice, where they are fully stated.

The 34 Geo. III. c. 74. has thrown the whole burden of the repair of the highways upon the occupiers of tenements, and by long and mysterious clauses has repealed those sections in the 13 Geo. III. c. 78. which provided that every man, not being the occupier of any tenement of 41. a year between the ages of 18 and 60, and not being an apprentice or menial servant, should work personally six days yearly, or compound by paying two shillings. I know that many intelligent magistrates could not, at the first, comprehend this statute; but when the effect of it could not be disputed, still they could not believe that this had been the intention of the legislature. This statute gives a power to two justices to exempt the poor occupiers of tenements from the payment of assessments towards the highways. Why the payment of so small a tax as 28. a year towards the repair of the roads upon every male inmate as before described, who could afford to pay it, was thrown upon the occupiers of land or tenements only, if the framers of it at the time actually understood the full operation of this statute, is to me wholly incomprehensible.

repairs, in erecting guide-posts, and making drains, and shall be reimbursed by a rate to be allowed at a special sessions. 4. In case the personal labor of the parish be not sufficient, the surveyors, with the consent of the quarter sessions, may levy a rate on the parish, in aid of the personal duty, not exceeding, in any one year, together with the other highway rates, the sum of 9d. in the pound; for the due application of which they are to account upon oath. As for turnpikes, which are now pretty generally introduced in aid of such rates, and the law relating to them, these depend principally on the particular powers granted in the several road acts, and upon some general provisions which are extended to all turnpike roads in the kingdom, by statute 13 Geo. III. c. 84. amended by many subsequent acts *.

VI. I PROCEED therefore, lastly, to consider the overseers of the poor; their original, appointment, and duty.

THE poor of England, till the time of Hen. VIII, subsisted entirely upon private benevolence, and the charity of well disposed christians (22). For though it appears by the mirror, that by the common law the poor were to be "sustained by 66 parsons, rectors of the church, and the parishioners; so that

k Stat. 14 Geo. III. c. 14. 36. 57. 82. 16 Geo. III. c. 39. 18 Geo. III. c. 28.
I e. 1. sec. 3.

The preamble to the 34 Geo. III. c. 64. states that it frequently happens, that the boundaries of two parishes pass through the middle of a common highway, so that one side is situated in, and liable to be repaired by, one parish, and the other by the adjoining parish, which has been found to be inconvenient; it therefore enacts that two justices of the peace shall have power to divide such a road between the two parishes by a transverse line or boundary. And either parish dicontented with that division may appeal to the quarter sessions, whose decision shall be final.

(22) The poor in Ireland, to this day, have no relief but from private charity. 2 Ld. Mount. 118.

"none of them die for default of sustenance ;" and though by the statutes 12 Ric. II. c. 7. and 19 Hen. VII. c. 12. the poor are directed to abide in the cities or towns wherein they were born, or such wherein they had dwelt for three years, which seem to be the first rudiments of parish settlements,) yet till the statute 27 Hen. VIII. c. 25. I find no compulsory method chalked out for this purpose: but the poor seem to have been left to such relief as the humanity of their neighbours would afford them. The monasteries were, in particular, their principal resource; and, among other bad effects which attended the monastic institutions, it was not perhaps one of the least (though frequently esteemed quite otherwise) that they supported and fed a very numerous and very idle poor, whose sustenance depended upon what was daily distributed in alms at the gates of the religious houses. But, upon the total dissolution of these, the [360] inconvenience of thus encouraging the poor in habits

of indolence and beggary was quickly felt throughout the kingdom: and abundance of statutes were made in the reign of king Henry the eighth and his children, for providing for the poor and impotent; which, the preambles to some of them recite, had of late years greatly increased. These poor were principally of two sorts: sick and impotent, and therefore unable to work; idle and sturdy, and therefore able, but not willing, to exercise an honest employment. To provide in some measure for both of these, in and about the metropolis, Edward the sixth founded three royal hospitals; Christ's and St. Thomas's, for the relief of the impotent through infancy or sickness; and Bridewell for the punishment and employment of the vigorous and idle. But these were far from being sufficient for the care of the poor throughout the kingdom at large: and therefore, after many other fruitless experiments, by statute 43 Eliz. c. 2. overseers of the poor were appointed in every parish.

By virtue of the statute last mentioned, these overseers are to be nominated yearly in Easter-week, or within one month