No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 669 



Have all the counties made their returns of by-roads, aud what is 

 required of theiu under tlie law? 



MR. HUNTER: All the counties have made a return. The county 

 having but five townships and but 167 miles of roads has not made 

 a return. We furnished them blanks but they thought it was not 

 necessary to send in those blanks and we have been trying for three 

 weeks to get them to send them in and have them sworn to under the 

 law. All the counties have made a return. 



MR. SCHWARZ: There was a belief, at the time the law was 

 under discussion and after its passage, that there were a number 

 of counties that would fight this bill by refusing to make a return. 



MR. HUNTER: The act requires that county commissioners and 

 township oflflcers shall furnish information on request of the High- 

 way Commissioner. Some of the counties sent the blanks back and 

 said they had no time to get this information and said they did not 

 know who was going to compensate them for it. I consulted the 

 Attorney General, and he instructed me to write them that they 

 should make returns or he would mandamus them. There is an old 

 law that he could take action under in mandamus proceedings. 



MR. SCHWARZ: \Vho determines a width of a road in a certain 

 locality, the Highway Department? 



MR. HUNTER: No. sir; that is more of an agreement with the 

 petitioners, or the townships in which the improvement is to be 

 made. I would like to see the road-bed eighteen feet wide, but if I 

 cannot get that I am willing to go ahead with sixteen or twelve 

 feet. Twelve feet is better than nothing. 



MR. SCHWARZ: Do you think the law% as it stands, is more fav- 

 orable to largely populated counties than thinly populated counties? 



MR. HUNTER: I think that it is, and that is one of the improve- 

 ments that will be needed in this bill. I like the provision in the 

 Connecticut law very much. In the Connecticut law the contracts 

 for the building of the roads are made between towmships, or towns 

 as they are termed, and the Highway Department. The counties 

 are left out the contract entirely and in the towns that have the 

 assessed valuation of a million or upwards the State pays two-thirds 

 of the cost. In the townships where the valuation does not amount 

 to so much, the State pays seventy-five per cent. 



MR. SCHWARZ: We have a road in my own county — Monroe — 

 and it passes through a good township first and then it passes 

 through a tow-nship which is not able to make the repairs. There 

 are only thirty voters in that township. Now I want to know what 

 is going to become of that township. If a road is finished through 

 that township, where will they get the money from? 



