126 ONTARIO 



lutcly necc-ary. then- fore, that they should be the best obtainable 

 ami that they should be maintained in the best possible condition. 

 To build and maintain highways costs more money than the ordin 

 ary citi/cn icali/e-; the municipal or provincial authorities had not 

 funds available to cope with this large undertaking. The work was 

 taken up by enterprising private citi/en- who formed road compan- 

 ies with authority to build and maintain roads and collect tin- 

 cost by toll from the parties using the roads. In this way good 

 gravel, stone or plank roads forming trunk and leading market 

 highways were provided. 



Steam and electric railways now furnish transportation farilitu-- 

 to every section of Old Ontario, and few places can be found that 

 are twenty miles from a railway station. 



The highways in southern Ontario are under the control of the 

 the local municipalities. The municipal corporations of citie-. 

 towns and villages control their public streets, while those of the 

 townships control the ordinary county roads. County Councils 

 are given power under the Highway Improvement Act to assume 

 the control of the main or leading roads in the county. S-.me few 

 toll roads are still in existence under private control. 



City streets are generally well paved, the cost being provided by 

 a special tax on the property benefited. 



The ordinary country roads were until recently constructed and 

 maintained by statute labour, the owners of the abutting lands ] 

 compelled by statute to perform each year a certain number of da\ B' 

 labour according to the value of their property. Many township- 

 have given up this method and provided for the cost of road work 



i general tax. The outlay for twenty years by the township- of 

 Ontario on ordinary country roads was estimated by the Provincial 

 Commissioner of Highwavs at 22,000,000 days of statute labour and 

 $10.015.103 cash expenditure, or allowing statute labour at one 

 dollar per day the expenditure on this class of roads in twenty years 

 exceeded in value $40,000,000. 



The expenditure on county roads under the Highway Improve- 

 ment Act in eighteen counties during the year 1012 was about 

 $870.876.04. The total expenditure on county roads from the 

 passing of the Highways Improvement Act in 1901 to 1012 has 

 amounted to about $4.273,478.05. of which the Province of Ontario 

 paid one-third and the counties two-thirds. 



Notwithstanding the above large sums expended on the roads, it 

 cannot be claimed that they are good roads. The introduction of 

 the motor car and motor truck has brought the problem of im- 



