512 
The  Yorkshire  Farm-Prize  Competition , 1883. 
upon  layer  of  boulders  and  debris,  that  the  cost  of  the  removal 
is  estimated  at  more  than  the  land  is  worth  ! 
In  addition  to  the  demolition  of  the  bridges,  long  lengths  of 
highway  have  been  entirely  swept  away,  and  their  site  become 
part  of  the  river  bed.  This  state  of  things  has  given  rise  to 
an  important  question,  which  is  at  present  arousing  considerable 
attention,  “ Whose  duty  is  it  to  make  new  roads  where  the 
highways  have  disappeared  ? ” The  Highway  Board  objects  to 
make  a new  road  by  the  riverside,  because  unless  they  embanked 
the  river,  which  would  involve  an  enormous  expense,  the  next 
flood  might  repeat  the  disaster.  A deviation  road  has  been 
surveyed,  leaving  a good  margin  between  the  river  and  the 
proposed  road,  but  the  landowners  will  not  sell  the  land  for  the 
purpose.  The  Highway  Board,  unlike  Rural  Sanitary  Authori- 
ties, have  no  compulsory  powers  to  take  land,  and  consequently 
there  is  at  present  a dead  lock.  If  the  Highway  Board  were 
compelled  to  embank  the  river  to  protect  their  road,  the  embank- 
ment would,  of  course,  protect  the  landowners’  property.  The 
following  report  of  this  case  has  been  supplied  to  the  writer  by 
an  influential  farmer  in  the  district : — 
“ The  corpus  of  the  road  having  been  completely  washed 
away,  brings  us  under  the  division  in  the  case  of  ‘ Regina 
versus  Hornsea,’  which  was  that  the  corpus  of  the  road  having 
been  entirely  washed  away  by  the  sea,  the  Highway  Board  was 
not  bound  to  make  a new  road.  Although  basing  our  case  on 
the  above,  our  Board  is  willing  to  purchase  the  land,  make  the 
road,  and  pay  all  surface  damage  assessed  by  arbitration.  This 
we  could  do  with  the  consent  of  all  the  landowners,  by  applica- 
tion to  Quarter  Sessions,  at  a trifling  cost ; but  the  landowners 
refusing  their  consent,  our  only  course  is  to  apply  for  a special 
Act  of  Parliament,  which,  if  opposed,  would  probably  cost 
1000/.  The  Highway  Board  considers  that,  seeing  under  the 
advice  they  have  taken  they  are  not  bound  to  make  a road  at 
all,  they  are  not  justified  in  spending  an  entire  1000Z.  in  apply- 
ing for  a special  Act  to  compel  the  landowners.  There  are  no  com- 
pulsory powers  to  take  land  in  the  Highway  Acts,  such  as  are 
granted  to  Rural  Sanitary  Authorities,  which  is  evidently  an 
omission,  and  ought  to  be  altered. 
“ Then  again,  under  the  Act  of  1878  the  cost  of  all  this  will 
fall  upon  the  whole  district,  and  not  upon  the  township,  so  that 
parties  forty  miles  away  will  have  to  pay  their  full  quota,  the 
same  as  the  ratepayers  in  the  village  of  Brompton. 
“ We  estimate  the  full  cost  of  this  at  not  less  than  2500/.  to 
3000/.  if  we  have  to  go  to  Parliament.  Supposing  we  had  to 
embank  the  river  by  building  a sea-wall,  it  would  cost  some 
thousands  more,  having  to  contend  with  about  14  feet  of  water, 
