Page images
PDF
EPUB

oath made of the sum which he hath bona fide expended, and which will be required for the purpose of buying such materials, or in making satisfaction for damages, or in erecting guide posts, or in repairing trunks, tunnels, plats, bridges, or arches, as well as for paying the salary of such surveyor, such justices or any 2 or more of them shall cause an equal assessment to be made upon all occupiers of lands, &c. in such parish, &c. not exceeding 6d. in the pound of the yearly value of the lands, &c. so assessed. And this act contained several provisions, (s. 34. to 52.) in respect to the statute duty, or proportion in which the inhabitants and occupiers of lands, &c. within the respective parishes, &c. should be chargeable to such repairs: but this act was amended in 34 Geo.3.c.74. these respects by the 34 Geo. 3. c. 74. Eng. which enacts, s. 4. Eng. that the surveyor, together with the inhabitants and ocStatute duty. cupiers of lands, &c. within each parish, township or place, shall, at proper seasons in every year, use their endeavours for the repair of the highways, and shall be chargeable thereunto as followeth, viz.:-Every person keeping a waggon, cart, wain, plough, or tumbrel, and 3 or more horses or beasts of draught used to draw the same, shall 6 days in every year, (if so many shall be found necessary) to be computed from Michaelmas to Michaelmas, send on every day, and at every place, to be appointed by the surveyor for amending the highways in such parish, &c, one wain, cart, or carriage, furnished after the custom of the country with oxen, horses, or other cattle, and all other necessaries, and also 2 able men with such wain, &c. which duty so performed shall excuse every such person from his duty in such parish, &c. in respect of all lands, &c. not exceeding the annual value of £50. which he shall occupy therein: and every person keeping such team, draught, or plough, and occupying in the same parish, &c. lands, &c. of the yearly value of £50. beyond the said £50. in respect whereof such team duty shall be performed; and every such person occupying lands, &c. of the yearly value of £50. in any other parish besides that wherein he resides; and every other person not keeping a team, &c. but occupy

ing lands, &c. of the yearly value of £50. in any parish,
&c. shall in like manner respectively and for the same
number of days, find and send one wain, cart, or carriage
furnished with not less than 3 horses, or 4 oxen and 1-
horse, or 2 oxen and 2 horses, and 2 able men to cach
wain, &c. and in like manner for every £50. per
annum respectively which such person shall occupy;
such wains, &c. to be employed by the surveyor in the
repairing the highways within the parish, &c. where such
lands, &c. shall lie; and every person who shall not keep
a team, &c. but shall occupy lands, &c. under the yearly
value of £50. in the parish &c. where he resides or in
any other parish, &c.; and every person keeping a team,
&c. and occupying lands, &c, under the yearly value of
£50. in any other parish than that wherein he resides,
shall pay to the surveyor in lieu of such duty, the sums
following, viz. :-For every 20s. of annual value of such
lands, &c. one penny for every days statute duty which
shall be required, not exceeding 6 days in every year;
and
every person shall in like manner pay one penny for
every 20s. of the annual value of the lands, &c. which
he shall occupy in any such parish, &c. above the annual
value of £50. and less than £100. and so for every
20s. of the intermediate annual value of the lands which
he shall occupy, and which shall fall short of the further
increase of £50. for each day's statute duty which shall
be required. But it is provided that no person keeping
such team, &c. and performing duty with the same in the
parish, &c. where he resides, and not occupying lands, &c.
within the same of the yearly value of £30. shall be
obliged to send more than 1 labourer with such team, &c.
And by s. 2. every person who shall not keep a team,

Money to be paid in lieu of statute duty by certain persons.

s. 2.

draught, or plough, but shall keep 1 cart or more, and Duty required...

sons.

I or 2 horses or beasts of draught only, used to draw in from other per such carts, shall be obliged to perform his statute duty for the like number of days with such carts, &c. and i labourer to attend each cart, or to pay for the lands, &c. which he shall occupy, according to the above rate, at the option of the surveyor; and every person who shall keep a coach, postchaise, chair, or other wheel carriage,

and

and not keep a team, &c. nor occupy lands, &c. of the annual value of £50. in the parish, &c. where he shall reside, shall pay to the surveyor one shilling in respect of every day's statute duty, for every horse which he shall draw in any such carriage, or shall pay according to the value of the lands, &c. which he shall occupy, according to the above rate, at the option of the surveyor; and if any of the said teams, &c. shall not be thought needful by the surveyor on any of the said days, then every such person shall upon receiving notice as therein directed send unto said work, for every one so spared, 3 able men, or pay to the surveyor 4s. 6d. in lieu thereof, at the option of the surveyor; and all such persons shall bring with them such shovels, spades, picks, mattocks, and other tools and instruments as are proper for the purposes aforesaid and such persons and carriages shall perform such work for 8 hours in every of said days, within said parish, &c. or in carrying materials from any other parish, &c.; and if any labourer or driver shall be insufficient or shall refuse to work, the surveyor is thereby authorized to discharge every such team, &c. and recover from the owner such forfeiture as if the same had not been sent; but this statute (s. 4. & 5.) empowered the justices to exempt poor persons from the payment of such rates; and also (by s. 6.) authorized them in certain cases to require the performance of the statute duty in kind. So much 13Geo. 3. c. 78. of the 13 Geo. 3. c. 78, s. 38. and 34 Geo. 3. c. 74. s. 3. s. 38. Eng. 34 Geo. 3. c. 74. as allowed persons to compound at certain rates for the performance of the statute duty, is repealed by the 44 Geo. 3. c. 52. E. which enacts, that any person liable to perform statute duty, by sending one or more teamis, draughts, Composition for or ploughs, with men, horses, or oxen, shall and may compound for the same, by paying to the surveyor of highways, (at the time and in manner in the 13 Geo.3.c.78. mentioned) such sum as the justices of peace for the limits wherein the parish, &c. is situate, or the major part of them, at their special sessions to be held in the first week after Michaelmas quarter-sessions in every year, shall adjudge to be reasonable, not exceeding 12s. nor less than 3s. for each team, for each day; and in default of their ad

s. 3. Eng.

44 Geo. 3. c.52.

F.

statute duty.

judging

t

judging the same, then the sum of 6s.; and for each cart with 2 horses or beasts of draught, not exceeding 8s. nor less than 3s.; and in default of their adjudging the same, the sum of 4s.; and for each cart with one horse or beast of draught, not exceeding 6s, nor less than 2s.; and in default of their adjudging the same, the sum of 3s.

their incidents.

13 Geo. 3. c.78.

The 13 Geo. 3. c. 78. contains several provisions for the Actions and protection of persons acting in execution of this act, by limiting the period for bringing actions against them to 3 s. 76. to 81. months; enabling such defendants to plead the general issue; and giving them treble costs in case of obtaining judgment, &c.; and the plaintiffs in such actions are thereby also barred, if tender of sufficient amends shall have been made. No proceedings in pursuance of this act are to be quashed for want of form, or removeable by certiorari; but an appeal may be made to the quarter-sessions by any person aggrieved by any thing done în execution of this

act.

And this statute contains these peculiar provisions, that the surveyor shall be a competent witness in all matters, relative to the execution of this act, notwithstanding his salary may arise in part from the forfeitures thereby inflicted; and any inhabitant of any parish, &c. in which any offence shall be committed contrary to this act, shall be also deemed a competent witness.

1

s. 70. Eng.

The 13 Geo. 3.c.84. Eng. consolidates the general laws Turnpike roads. for regulating the turnpike roads in England, and enacts that 13 Geo. 5.c.s+. where the powers given by several turnpike acts are ineffectual, for providing materials for the use of the turnpike roads therein described, and also for enlarging, diverting, and turning such turnpike-roads, and stopping up and selling of the old roads, and also for making, opening, and cleansing of ditches and drains, and the cutting and pruning of hedges and trees, and also for calling forth the statute duty which shall belong to such turnpike-roads, the surveyor of every turnpike-road may with the approbation of the trustees, put in execution the several powers more amply given for the like purposes in the general highway act, to the surveyor of the parish, &c.

The 11, 12, and 13 Jac. 1. c. 7. Ir. adopted the prin- Powers of grand ciple which was first established in England by the 2 & 3 juries in Ireland

Ph.

Ph. & M. c. 8. Eng. (as amended by the 5 Eliz. c. 13. and 18 Eliz. c. 10.) for repairing highways, by obliging the parishioners, in proportion to the quantity of land occupied, to provide carriages, horses, and men, with the necessary tools and instruments, to be employed in mending the highways; and the householders, cottiers and Jabourers, were thereby also compellable to serve in person at such work, under such penalties, as in said act mentioned. This Irish act was amended by several subsequent statutes, but was finally repealed, and the principle of the application of 6 days labour to the repair of roads, superseded by the 5 Geo. 3. c. 14. Ir. The several laws made for the amendment and repair of roads having proved ineffectual, and having become confused from their multiplicity, the 36 Geo. 3. c. 55. Ir. has therefore consolidated and amended their various provisions, and some further amendments have been since made by the 37 Geo. 3. c. 35. 40 Geo. 3. c. 88. and 46 36 Geo. 3. c.55. Geo. 3. c. 96. By the 36 Geo. 3. c. 55. s. 2. Ir. ít shall be lawful for the grand jury of any county, county of a city, or county of a town, at any assizes, to prewidening roads sent any part of any road leading directly from a not less than 32 market town to a market town, or from a market town to feet. the sea, or to any colliery, coal pit, or culm pit, to be widened to any breadth not more than 52, nor less than 32 feet in the clear; and any part of other public

6. 2. Ir.

Presentment for

s. 14.

Making new *pals not less than 32 feet.

any

[ocr errors]

road to be widened to any breadth not more than 44 feet
nor less than 24 feet; and to present such sums of money
as shall be necessary for widening the same, and making
fences instead of those which shall be taken down or
destroyed, to be raised on the barony or half barony,
or county of a city or town, in which the same shall be
situate. And by s. 14. any grand jury may also present
upon the request of
any person, any new road to be laid
out and made between any 2 market towns, or from any
market town to the sea, of any width not less than 32
feet nor more than 52 feet in the clear, and to present
such sums as shall be necessary for laying out and making
the same, and making fences thereto, (not exceeding 6d.
by the perch for laying out, and 1s. 6d. for every perch

of

« PreviousContinue »