OUR HIGHWAYS. 



perhaps) into the union or to the relieving officer for 

 outdoor relief, it was a very common occurrence to 

 apply to the surveyor of the highway to know if he 

 could not give poor old So-and-So a day or two in 

 the week 'on the roads,' which accounted for one 

 so frequently seeing very old and nearly worn-out 

 men slowly and with great difficulty dragging a 

 scraper across some by-road or lane, or trying to 

 break a few stones with a hammer. It was probably 

 some consolation to them to be able to get a crust 

 without surrendering their freedom by going into the 

 union — a laudable spirit of independence certainly ; 

 though I question very much whether, as a matter of 

 economy, it answered the purpose. True, the nine- 

 pence or a shilling paid for the day's labour was not 

 much, neither was the amount of work done con- 

 siderable ; but as a means of giving assistance to 

 some of the aged poor, without imposing on them the 

 stigma, as they frequently regarded it, of applying 

 for ' parish relief,' it perhaps answered the purpose. 



Now that the accounts of highway boards have to 

 be kept in somewhat elaborate form, and the dis- 

 bursement of their funds by the officers is minutely 

 examined, the getting a fair day's work for a fair 

 day's wage may preclude any indulgence on the part 

 of the surveyors, rendering it incumbent upon them to 

 employ only able and thoroughly efficient labourers 



