TELFORD AND THE SCOTCH ROADS. 63 



districts where the roads were required. The poverty 

 of the inhabitants rendered the attempt to construct 

 roads beyond their scanty means. In 1S02, Mr. 

 Telford was called upon by the Government to make 

 a survey of Scotland and report as to measures that 

 were necessary for the formation of new roads and 

 the improvement and preservation of existing ones. 

 The report was duly presented, printed, and approved. 

 In this report Mr. Telford pointed out that the 

 military roads were insufficient for the requirements 

 of the day. 



The difficulties encountered by the Bar in travelling 

 the Northern Circuit are well described by Lord 

 Cockburn. " There was no bridge," he said, " over 

 the Tay at Dunkeld, or over the Spey at Forres — 

 nothing but wretched ferries, let to poor cottagers, 

 whose wives or daughters used to take us across these 

 rivers. 



" There was no mail-coach north of Aberdeen until 

 after the battle of Waterloo. North of Inverness 

 matters were still worse. There was no bridge over 

 the Banley or the Conan ; drovers coming south 

 swam the river with their cattle. There beinof no 

 roads, there was no use for carts. In the whole 

 county of Caithness there was not a farmer who 

 owned a wheel-cart ; burdens w^ere usually carried on 

 the backs of ponies, but quite as often on the backs of 

 women. 



" Telford altered all this. Being commissioned by 

 the Government to construct various roads throughout 

 Scotland, besides bridges over rivers which were 

 hitherto impassable, in the course of eighteen years he 

 made 920 miles of roads, and made 1200 bridges, 

 partly at the expense of the localities immediately 



