ROADSIDE WASTES. 289 



vested in the owners of the adjoining land, as is the case 

 with the soil of the roads, subject to the rights of the 

 public over them ; but not unfrequently they are the 

 property of the Lords of Manors of their districts, as part 

 of the wastes of their Manors, and are therefore not sub- 

 ject to inclosure, without the consent of the Commoners. 

 It often happens, however, that the main part of the 

 waste has been inclosed, and that nothing remains of 

 it but the road-side strips ; and where this is the case, 

 but for the rights of the public, the lord may venture 

 to inclose without much fear of being called to account. 



Fortunately, there is no doubt as to the law, or as 

 to the right of the public to the continued use and enjoy- 

 ment of the road-side wastes. The law, however, is 

 apparently little known, even to those whose right it is 

 to put it in force, and to abate inclosures of these strips 

 of land ; for complaints are frequent, from all parts of 

 the country, that encroachments take place, and that 

 the highway authorities, so far from preventing them, 

 are too often aiders and abettors in them. 



It has been well-settled law, for many years past, 

 that the public have the right of way over the road-side 

 wastes, no matter what the width of the metalled road 

 may be, and that any obstruction erected on them, in 

 the way of fences or otherwise, is a nuisance, for 

 which the author may be indicted in a Criminal Court. 

 The highway authorities have no power to consent 

 to such encroachments on the rights of the public, 

 aud though the law has not cast upon them the same 

 obligations to protect the road-side waste as in 



T 



