CHAPTER II. 



ROAD ENGINEERS. 



The improvement of the roads seems to have pro- 

 gressed rather more expeditiously after the establish- 

 ment of Palmer's mail-coach between London a±ld 

 Bristol than it had done in previous years, it being a 

 matter of necessity to put them into such condition 

 as to render them fit for the mails to travel on. With 

 this advancement in the condition of the great main 

 roads, that of the other roads naturally followed, but 

 the inauguration of a system of improving the roads 

 is due to the great practical talent and scientific 

 ability of Mr. Loudon McAdam, his son Sir James 

 McAdam, and Mr. Telford, a noted engineer. 



Some information respecting men to whom the 

 thanks of the country at large are due, is not out of 

 place; for although the use of the roads, that is main 

 roads, has much diminished since the introduction of 

 railways, McAdam's system continues, and we are 

 indebted to him for the good roads we now have as a 

 means of transit all over the kingdom. 



