ROAD. 



culture, they are as the veins and arteries to the human 

 body. Through thefe the blood circulates in every direc- 

 tion, and thus keeps alive the animal fyllem ; but, if this 

 circulation i; by any means checked or obllructed, even in 

 the remoteft part, that part foon becomes ufelefs, and finks 

 into decay, and in fome degree is felt throughout the whole 

 body. So it is with refpect to the commercial and agri- 

 cultural fyflems. Without a free and uninterrupted inter- 

 courfe, it is impoflible they can exifl, or at leaft produce, 

 to the community at large, fo many important benefits as 

 they otherwife might have done. How many, for example, 

 are the places, in almolt every country, that might be ren- 

 dered doubly valuable, if the accefs were practicable and eafy. 

 How immenfe the quantities of the finett timber, perhaps 

 growing in inacceflible woods, which, on that account alone, 

 are loft to fociety. How many the valuable ftrata of the 

 richeft metals and minerals, which, from the fame caufe, 

 lie buried and undilturbed in the bowels of the earth ; and 

 how many thoufands of acres of the molt fertile foil, that 

 might be improved and cultivated to the higheit degree of 

 perfection, and thus very largely contribute to increafe the 

 food and the comforts of man, were the ingrefs and egrefs 

 rendered practicable and free. And the value of a farm, 

 confequently the riches, perhaps the Itrength of a country, 

 greatly depend on an eafy and uninterrupted communi- 

 cation by good roads. 



And the able author of the " Wealth of Nations" has 

 well fuggefted, that good roads, canals, and navigable 

 rivers, by diminifhing the expence of carriage, put the 

 remote parts of the country more nearly upon a level with 

 thole in the neighbourhood of the town. They are, upon 

 that account, the greateil of all improvements. They 

 encourage the cultivation of tlie remote, which mult always 

 be the molt extenfive circle of the country. Though they 

 introduce fome rival commodities into the old markets, they 

 open many new markets to its produce. It is even 

 further obferved, that the Romans were fo fenfible of this, 

 that we are told, the fuit writer fays, they did not 

 think it beneath the dignity of the commonwealth to 

 attend to the conveniencies from good roads. That great 

 and wife people, it is faid, carried on, at an immenfe expence, 

 roads, whofe remains are to this day the admiration of the 

 curious, from the centre of the empire to many of the re- 

 motcr provinces. The readier march of their armies was, 

 perhaps, he thinks, their fn It motive ; but the eafier inter- 

 courfe of the feveral parts ul the great empire was another, 

 which they had too much prudence and too much wifdom 

 to overlook. We are alio told by Diodorus, Strabo, and 

 ether hiltorians, he lays, that the famous Semiramis, being 

 fw fully convinced of the importance of an eafy and general 

 intercourse, applied hc-rfelf to render the roads practicable 

 throughout the whole extent oJ her empire. 



Mr. Donaldlon . dfo (tateB, that, in an agricultural view, 

 the benefits derived trom good roads are incalculable. Be- 

 fore the eltabhfhmcnt of turnpike roads in England, many 

 parts of that kingdom, like the highlands of Scotland, were 

 icarcely acceflible. Coal, manure, grain, &c. as is Hill the 

 cafe in many parts of Cornwall, were carried on horfes' 

 back6. Where waggons were uied, feven or eight horfes 

 were neceiTary to draw about two tons, and feldom were 

 _l.li- to proceed above twenty miles in a day. Now, where 

 turnpikes are eftablilhed, or other means ufed for keeping 

 the roads in a proper ftate of repair, the fame number of 

 • orfes will draw at leall live tons, and travel nearly double 

 diltance, with in ich mure cafe. How abfurd, then, con- 

 , for any pcrfon to fcruple the payment of an in- 



confiderable toll, when the faving is fo great and fo evident ; 

 where the tear and wear in one cafe are not one-twentieth 

 part of what they are ill the other ! 



It is likewife contended by Mr. Beatfon, in refpect to the 

 turnpike laws in this country, that they are liable to many 

 exceptions ; for although immenfe funis of money are 

 annually levied for the purpole of making and repairing the 

 highways, yet, either from bad management, from party 

 influence, or from the chicanery and ignorance of furveyors 

 and contractors, the roads in many places are not only laid 

 out in the molt abfurd direction, but are fo badly con- 

 ilructed, and kept in io wretched a ftate of repair, that thev 

 are almolt impatlable. It is furpriling that in fo enlightened 

 a country, and where the turnpike laws have io much en- 

 sraired the attention of many very increnious men, thole lav,., 

 fhould Itill remain io very detective ; more efpecially as there 

 is hardly a country gentleman who attends a turnpike meet- 

 ing, but confiders himfelf completely mailer of the whole 

 buiinefs and management, as well as of the making of roads ; 

 at leall, if we may judge trom the violent dilputations and 

 bickerings that frequently happen at thefe meetings, where 

 a propofed new line of road, or perhaps the repair of an 

 old one, will lometimes be contefted with as great keennefs 

 and vehemence, as if the parties were contending whether 

 Great Britain (hall be a monarchy or a republic. And it 

 is contended, that it too often happens party influence 

 rules the proceedings at fuch meetings, and that thofe who 

 are entrulled with the management of this bufinefs, dele- 

 gate their powers, and trull the inflection and whole 

 management and direction of the roads to fome ignorant or 

 pretended furveyor ; who, almolt to a certainty, will im- 

 pofe upon them, efpecially if he is empowered to fettle 

 with contractors ; and thus the bulinels of the public, in 

 one of its moll important concerns, is either altogether 

 neglected, or terminated according to the convenience of 

 the (trongeft party, without any regard to the interetls of 

 the community at large. In fupport of this aflertion, he 

 has only to refer to many parts of the principal thorough- 

 fares in Britain. In fome, it will be obferved, the roads are 

 directed in the molt irregular zigzag manner, through a 

 level part of the country, where thev ought evidently to 

 have gone llraight forward. In other places, the traveller 

 and the public, and the poor overloaded hoi le, are obliged 

 to (ubmit to all the inconvenience, the labour, and the 

 fatigue of afcending and descending the fteepeft hills, when 

 they might have gone, witli the greateil eaie and comfort, on 

 a level road, by proper attention in the lirlt making and 

 laying them out. He is, however, tar from thinking it 

 would either be jull or proper to force a road unnecellariU 

 through any part of a gentleman's property without hi: 

 content, unlets for very powerful realons indeed. 



If to avoid a deep afcent, or to Ihorten the diftance con- 

 fiderably, and that there is no other way to do io, in that 

 cafe there fhould be no helitation ; but if the advantages 

 to the public are not very material, and that another line 

 can be adopted, nearly as good, which will do lefs injury 

 to an individual, the latter line (hould unqiiellioiubly be 

 preferred in all inch cafes of laying out ru.iJ . 



It Ihould be a general maxim, he think . that private 

 confiderations ought, in all cafes, to give way to public 

 convenience and advantage. Society, IS] 9 he, 15 formed 

 for the mutual and general benefit of tin whole, and it 

 would be a very unjult meafure to incommode the whole, 

 merely tor the convenience, or perhaps to gratify the wluiu 

 or caprice of an individual. However, the property of an 

 individual ought by no means to be taken tu ferve the 



2 1 public, 



