OF THE COUNTY OF TYRONE. 129 



where that is not the cafe, their friends are. I am very 

 far, however, from fuppofmg, that all the under over- 

 feers of the county are of the fame caft ; many of them I 

 know to be men of ability, and poflefled of liberal fen- 

 timents. It is not the men, who have the charge of 

 public works, that are fo much to blame, but the fyf- 

 tem adopted, and the partiality, that I am forry to find 

 fo prevalent through the whole county ; and the only 

 fure way of preventing this evil is, in my opinion, the 

 appointing of iufpeftors, and farming the roads. 



I have introduced, in the neighbourhood I live in, a 

 fpecies of bridge, fome years ago, which I find to an- 

 fwer extremely well for a fmall mountainy brook. 

 When the water is low, the whole of it pafTes under ; 

 and, in times of floods, part goes under, and part over 

 the bridge. The pafTenger, notwithftanding, is feldom 

 flopped, as mountainy floods foon fubfide; they fel- 

 dom laft longer than an hour or two ; and, in roads 

 not very public, it feldom happens that any perfon may 

 go that way during the flood ; and, in cafe a perfon 

 fhould pafs during that time, if on horfeback, he may 

 ford it ; if on foot, there are ftepping-ftones con- 

 venient. 



This kind of bridge may be built for one-third lefs 

 than in the ufual way, where the fituation may be 

 found anfwerable j and, if well executed, is aever fub- 

 jecT: to be out of repair : it is only calculated, however, 

 for opens, which are intended to be flagged, inftead of 

 fmall arches. 



