358 



Turnpike and Parish Roads. 



hat; he has a barrow, shovel, pickaxe, spade, rake, scraper, 

 stone-hammer, and garden-Une — all numbered according- to his 

 mile ; and, to enable the men to take advantage of wet weather^ 

 they have a cape, similar to a policeman's cape, given to them, 

 made rather longer behind, to prevent the water running on 

 their backs while stooping to work in wet weather. It has 

 been repeatedly asked whether the mile-men might not be al- 

 lowed to go from the road during the summer months, when 

 it is alleged by some that there is not enough for the mile-man 

 to do : but experience tells us that it is upon his constant, every- 

 day attendance upon his portion of road, be that great or small, 

 at all parts of the year, that the economical maintenance of 

 the road depends, as it is necessary for the mile-man to become 

 acquainted with the peculiarities of every part of his road, varying 

 according to the substratum — some parts Ijreaking up in dry wea- 

 ther, other parts particularly after frost — some parts requiring 

 the gravel when laid on to be put on thick at one time, others will 

 only bear a slight coating, a little at a time, and, perhaps, two or 

 three times in the course of a season ; it requires quite as much 

 observation on the part of the mile-man to ascertain the necessary 

 treatment of every part of his road as it does for a groom to ascer- 

 tain the constitution of his horse ; and ail hills require nearly 

 double the attention that level ground does, particularly where 

 the materials for repair are of a soft nature ; the near side of 

 every hill is torn up by the horses in stage-coaches and waggons 

 holding back in descending the hill, and, either in very wet or very 

 dry weather, destroying the even surface or gradual descent to the 

 water-table, by which the road would soon lose its proper form 

 if the mile-man's attention was not constantly called to it. Thus 

 it is that, by a regular and well-organised system of manual 

 labour, we have been enabled, with the worst possible mate- 

 rial, to establish a uniform and even surface of road with less 

 material : and to show how much depends on that attention, it 

 has repeatedly happened that, where a mile-man has been the 

 least attentive or intelligent, we have been obliged to lay on a con- 

 siderable quantity of extra gravel beyond the apportioned quantity ; 

 when the very contrary has been the case with a good man, who 

 in most instances saves or reserves for the following season a 

 portion of his depots of gravel, and in many instances accumulates 

 enough, by saving, to lay on a thick coat to some low or bad part 

 of his road ; thereby effecting a permanent and lasting improve- 

 ment to the road, without additional expense to the trust. 



I think I have shown the necessity of having active and intelli- 

 gent men for the service of the road ; and, to secure such men, 

 their situation should be made rather better than that of a com- 

 mon labourer ; and, as they have no opportunity of making any 



