Which has appeared to the Author the most clear and comprehensive
arrangement.
_REMARKS ON ROADS._
PART FIRST.
_THE MODE OF MAKING ROADS._
The modes of making and repairing Roads are so various in the different
parts of the kingdom, that it would be an endless task to attempt a
particular account of each. It may, however, be possible to give a
general idea of them, according to the materials produced in each part
of the country.
In the neighbourhood of London, the roads are formed of gravel; in Essex
and Sussex, they are formed of flint; in Wilts, Somerset, and Glocester,
limestone is principally used; in the North of England, and in Scotland,
whinstone is the principal material; and in Shropshire and
Staffordshire, large pebbles mixed with sand.
Excellent roads may be made with any of these materials.
The gravel of which the roads round London are formed is the worst;
because it is mixed with a large portion of clay, and because the
component parts of gravel are round, and want the angular points of
contact, by which broken stone unites, and forms a solid body; the loose
state of the roads near London, is a consequence of this quality in the
material, and of the entire neglect, or ignorance of the method of
amending it.
A more careful examination of facts connected with the roads round
London, has discovered several other causes, from whence proceeds the
defective state of these roads. The greatest appears to be, the division
of the roads into so many small Trusts, which precludes the possibility
of any extended plan of operations, for the benefit of the whole. Before
any one road round London can be properly reformed, and all wasteful
expenditure restrained, a comprehensive view of the local situation of
the whole district will be requisite.
Another great impediment to improvement, arises from the laws and
regulations, which prevent a supply of good road materials, of several
kinds, being brought to London by water, and landed in different places,
convenient for the roads. Were these restrictions removed, as far as
concerns stone, flint, or any ballast for road-making, London is so
favorably situated for water carriage by the river, and by the canals
connected with it, that a supply, equal to the wants of all the roads in
the vicinity of London, might be obtained at a reasonable rate, and of
good quality, so as to render the use of the bad gravel round the
metropolis no longer necessary.[1] But this measure, to be performed in
an economical, and efficient manner, must be done upon an extended
scale; it must become one interest, directed by one select body of men
of weight, ability, and character.
Footnote 1:
This must not be understood as conveying an opinion, that a good road
may not be constructed with the London gravel, properly prepared and
applied. The road at Reading, in Berkshire, has lately been made
perfectly smooth, solid, and level, with a gravel inferior to that of
London, and at less than it formerly cost. Carriages make no
impression on this road, and it has remained good in all changes of
weather. Nevertheless, a means having been discovered, by diligent
enquiry, for importing flints, from a distance, the Reading road will,
in future, be repaired with flint, at half the expence required to
prepare the gravel of the neighbourhood.
A road near London may be made as smooth, solid, and easy for cattle to
draw carriages over, as the road near Bristol; and the London road _so
made_ will last longer, and consequently be less expensive than the
Bristol road, because the materials which may be obtained are more
durable, and may be procured at less expence.
Flint makes an excellent road, if due attention be paid to the size; but
from want of that attention, many of the flint roads are rough, loose,
and expensive.
Limestone, when properly prepared and applied, makes a smooth, solid
road, and becomes consolidated sooner than any other material; but from
its nature is not the most lasting.
Whinstone is the most durable of all materials; and wherever it is well
and judiciously applied, the roads are comparatively good and cheap.
The pebbles of Shropshire and Staffordshire, are of a hard substance,
and only require a prudent application to be made good road materials.
On the other hand, the Scottish roads, made of the very best materials,
which are abundant and cheap in every part of that country, are the most
loose, rough, and expensive roads in the United Kingdom, owing to the
unskilful use of the material.
The _formation_ of roads is defective in most parts of the country; in
particular the roads round London, are made high in the middle, in the
form of a roof, by which means a carriage goes upon a dangerous slope,
unless kept on the very centre of the road.
These roads are repaired by throwing a large quantity of unprepared
gravel in the middle, and trusting that, by its never consolidating, it
will in due time move towards the sides.
When a road has been originally well made, it will be easily repaired.
Such a road can never become rough, or loose; though it will gradually
wear thin and weak, in proportion to the use to which it is exposed; the
amendment will then be made, by the addition of a quantity of materials
prepared as at first. As there will be no expense on such road, between
the first making and each subsequent repair, except the necessary
attention to the water-ways, and to accidental injuries, the funds will
be no longer burdened with the unceasing expenditure, at present
experienced, from continual efforts at repairing, without amendment of
the roads.
There cannot be a doubt, that all the roads in the kingdom may be made
smooth and solid, in an equal degree, and to continue so at all seasons
of the year. Their durability will of course depend on the strength of
the materials of which they may be composed, but they will all be good
while they last, and the only question that can arise respecting the
kind of materials, is one of time and expence, but never of the
immediate condition of the roads.
The anxious provisions of the Legislature for _preservation_ of the
roads have unfortunately taken precedence of measures for making roads
fit to be travelled upon, or worth the care of being preserved. Will it
be deemed presumptuous to propose, that some regulations may be adopted,
for encouraging and promoting a better system of making roads, by
eliciting the exertion of science, and by creating a set of officers of
skill, and reputation, to superintend this most essential branch of
domestic economy?
When roads are properly made, very few regulations are necessary for
their preservation. It is certainly useful to make effectual provision
for keeping clear the watercourses, for removing nuisances, and for the
pruning of trees and hedges; for these purposes ample powers should be
given to Commissioners; but the advantage of many existing regulations
respecting wheeled carriages may very well be questioned. There can be
no doubt that many of those regulations are oppressive to commerce and
agriculture, by compelling an inconvenient construction of carriages.[2]
The author has never observed any great difference of effect, on a _well
made road_, by narrow or broad wheels; either of them will pass over a
smooth, solid road, without leaving any visible impression: on rough,
loose roads, the effect will certainly be different; but whether a loose
and rough road can be amended by dragging an unwieldy carriage over it,
or whether, if it were possible to amend roads by such means, it can be
deemed the most economical for the nation at large, can hardly be
subject of doubt.[3]
Footnote 2:
The increase of the breadth of the wheels, though in a greater
proportion than that of the weights, is by no means a compensation for
it; because the whole breadth in many instances, from the inequality
of the ground, or the wheels, will not be brought to bear whenever it
can, the first impression must be made by the nails, where they are
prominent, perhaps by a single nail; or the bearing may happen upon
single pieces of materials, or upon the edges of materials, incapable
of supporting the weights. _See Enquiry into the State of the Public
Roads, by the Rev._ HENRY HOMER, _A. M. Rector of Birdlingbury,
Warwickshire. Published in 1767, Page 66._
It must be observed, that these remarks of Mr. Homer, and of every
other writer on the subject of roads, are only applicable to such as
are loose, rough, and uneven; and that no one seems to have
contemplated the idea of a road being made at once strong, smooth, and
solid.—AUTHOR.
Footnote 3:
Broad-wheeled carriages are found to be so unadapted to the purposes
of husbandry, the number of horses requisite for their draught so
great, and the beneficial effects of them to the road so questionable,
that neither the encouragements on the one hand, nor the
discouragements on the other, have been sufficient to bring them into
general use.
HOMER’S ENQUIRY, Page 25.
It must however be admitted, that the wear of roads is proportioned to
the weight and velocity of carriages running upon a given breadth of the
tire of the wheels, and therefore, it is of consequence that some
regulations should be adopted. The best regulations, as regard the
breadth of the tire of wheels, will be found in several Acts of the
Session of Parliament 1816, where Carts are required to have wheels of a
cylindrical form five inches broad; and Waggon Wheels of the same form
six inches broad, with an equal upright bearing. The weights will be
best and most easily regulated by the number of horses, or other cattle,
drawing the carriages: and this, as a regulation of economy, may be
made, by the tolls at present payable on the cattle being levied in a
larger ratio as the number increases.
Waggons and carts with wheels of a cylindrical form and upright bearing,
running on a breadth of tire of five and six inches, cannot injure a
well made road, at the slow pace with which such carriages travel; at
least, in any proportion beyond the toll they pay. On the contrary, it
is certain, that Stage Coaches, with their present system of loading,
and velocity of travelling upon very narrow wheels, damage the roads in
a much greater proportion than the compensation derived from the toll.
Every wheel, propelled by a force applied to its centre of motion, as
the axis of a carriage wheel, is disposed by its specific gravity, to be
dragged forwards, instead of turning round; and the rotative motion is
occasioned by the resistance presented by the surface over which it
passes; yet this resistance does not entirely prevent dragging; for
every wheel running upon a road drags in some degree. This degree will
be proportioned to the weight of the carriage, and the velocity of the
wheel upon its axis, and will be opposed by the breadth of the tire
coming in contact with the road.
Stage Coaches, therefore, carrying heavy weights, moving with great
velocity, and presenting to the road a narrow tire of wheel, must of
necessity drag in a greater degree than any other carriage, as combining
in themselves every cause by which dragging is produced.[4]
Footnote 4:
Above fifty Stage Coach journies are made daily between BRISTOL and
BATH: the Author’s observation leads him to the conclusion, that the
toll-duty paid by them, does not indemnify the funds for the wearing
of the road.
When the Legislature shall have provided the means of putting all the
roads in the United Kingdom into the best and fittest state for the
accommodation of the agriculture and commerce of the country, they will
naturally consider of the most proper modes of protecting them from
injury, or for indemnifying the funds for the effects of use which are
unavoidable, by imposing toll duties in a just and equitable proportion
on the carriages occasioning such injury.
PART SECOND.
_COMMISSIONERS AND OFFICERS EMPLOYED UNDER THEM._
The care of the Turnpike Roads has been committed by Parliament, into
the hands of Commissioners, selected from that class of society, most
capable of executing the duties of superintendance, and from their
station most likely to perform the duty with fidelity; in this respect
the expectations of the public has not been disappointed; and there can
be but one opinion, upon the obligations the country owes to this very
respectable part of the community. Perhaps the only useful regulation
wanted, in respect to Commissioners, would be to confine the
qualification of Trustees to _landed_ property.
The superintending and controuling power, so wisely placed by Parliament
in the Commissioners, has not, however, been sufficient to secure all
the objects of the Legislature. A scientific, laborious, executive power
is wanting; and no means having been thought of for this part of the
service, it has been altogether neglected, or at best very unprofitably
supplied by a set of Surveyors, altogether ignorant of the duties of the
office they were called upon to fill.[5]
Footnote 5:
The general laws relating to highways seem sufficiently calculated to
answer the purpose intended by them, if Overseers were qualified with
a sufficient degree of judgment to execute them properly, and of
industry and spirit to do it effectually.
HOMER’S ENQUIRY, Page 18.
General superintendance and gratuitous services, such as the law
contemplated to receive from the Commissioners of Turnpikes, may be
obtained, and have been faithfully and conscientiously given by the
Commissioners; but that constant and laborious attention, requisite to
superintend the executive duties of a turnpike trust, cannot reasonably
be expected from gentlemen engaged in other pursuits. Were they to
undertake the task, it must be subject to all the interruptions of their
private affairs, or other occupations; and this alone would render their
services nugatory. Some instances of individual zeal and exertion, on
the part of Commissioners, in particular parts of the country, have
served to show what benefit might be derived from providing each county
with an executive officer, whose sole attention should be given to the
business; whose services should be amply remunerated, and of whom the
Commissioners might _of right_ demand an account of the manner in which
their orders were carried into execution; who should examine and audit
the accounts of the Sub-surveyors; compare them with the work performed,
and certify them, if approved, to the Treasurers.
In a trust of any extent, say about 150 miles of road, the time of such
an officer would be very fully employed. He must direct the execution of
the repairs, and alterations of the road, when ordered by the
Commissioners; and he must controul the contracts, and other agreements
entered into by the Sub-surveyors, so as to prevent unnecessary expence;
he must examine all work performed, to see that it is corresponding with
contracts, and generally keep a vigilant superintendance over the
persons employed under him. Accounts of all expences incurred should
every second week be delivered by the Sub-surveyors into his office in
duplicate; after examination, one copy to remain in the office, the
other certified, to be sent to the Treasurer, upon which payment may
follow.
Much must depend on the selection of the officer to whom this charge is
committed; he must have a considerable share of general information
respecting country business; the subject of road-making ought to have
been well considered by him; his station in society should be such, as
to secure to him the support and confidence of the Commissioners, while
it commands the obedience and deference of the subordinate officers.
The success of the exertions of individual Commissioners, in particular
parts of the country first suggested the opinion, that a better system
of road-making might be adopted, and the examples of a better practice
extended to all parts of the country; but the benefit can never be
rendered thus general, unless accompanied by the zeal and activity that
produced it; and this can only be supplied by officers, whose sole duty
it shall be, and who will be accountable to the Commissioners under
whose orders they act for the execution of the trust confided to them.
Gratuitous services are ever temporary and local, they are dependant on
the residence, and life of the party; and have always disappointed
expectation. Skill and executive labour must be adequately paid for, if
expected to be constantly and usefully exerted; and if so exerted, the
price is no consideration when compared with the advantage to the
public.
From the want of such an officer, the orders of the Commissioners, after
having been maturely considered, and wisely given, have fallen, for
execution into the hands of Surveyors, selected not unfrequently from
the lowest class of the community, who have proceeded without plan or
method. The consequence is seen in every corner of the country; want of
science in the Surveyor has gone hand in hand with improvident
expenditure, to the injury of the roads, and the derangement of the
finances. A vigilant and unremitting superintendance is wanting to
ensure an economical and effectual execution.
Whether it may not be useful to empower Commissioners in the small
Trusts into which the roads of England are unfortunately divided, to
unite together in sufficient number to enable them to provide a
respectable and efficient executive officer, and for other general
purposes of improvement, is humbly submitted to the wisdom of
Parliament.
The effect of an active and efficient controul over the Sub-surveyors,
in the executive part of their duties; and in rescuing the funds from
mis-application and depredation, is exemplified in the measures wisely
entered into by the Commissioners for the care of the turnpike roads in
the BRISTOL DISTRICT, the success of which has amply justified their
adoption, the roads having been entirely reformed and put into the best
possible state for use, at an expence considerably within the revenue of
the Trust. This improved state of the finances has enabled the
Commissioners to effect several great permanent improvements, without
forgetting the necessary provision for liquidation of the debt, which
had accumulated during former years.
PART THIRD.
_CARE OF THE FINANCES._
The funds placed by the Legislature at the disposal of the Commissioners
for the care of turnpike roads are very considerable, and might be
supposed with proper management, fully equal to the object; they arise
principally from toll duties, and a proportion of statute labour.
As long as it shall be necessary to raise large sums for the maintenance
of roads, the present means must continue; toll duties, although liable
to many objections, are so _immediately_, and _effectually_ productive,
that little hope can be entertained of the possibility of their being
reduced, until a continuance of a better system shall have materially
amended the roads, and reduced the expence, so as to leave means for
extinguishing the heavy debt owing by the country for this branch of the
public service.
Statute labour, in kind, was decreed by Parliament at a time, when no
better means could be devised: when a circulating medium was deficient,
and when a fair quantum of labour could not, in many parts of the
country, be obtained for money.
Personal labour for a public service can never be made profitable, or
fairly productive; at the same time, it is liable to the great
objections of being made an instrument of partiality and oppression
under the direction of a class of men with whom such a power should
never be lodged, and over whom, in this instance, no adequate controul
can be placed.
The causes, which operated to induce Parliament to resort to personal
service, having ceased, it will be found expedient to commute statute
labour for a moderate assessment in money. This has been effected with
great advantage in Scotland, by most, if not all of the local and county
Acts for turnpike roads.[6]
Footnote 6:
It is impossible not to see that statute labour is a remnant of
personal service; a gentleman might as well argue at the present day,
that rents paid in kind, are more easy and equitable than monied
rents, as to defend the custom of mending highways by compulsory
labour.
EDGEWORTH’S ESSAY ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF
ROADS AND CARRIAGES, p. 46.
The sum of money annually raised in the kingdom for roads is very great,
and would be found, if carefully examined into, much beyond the general
belief. Government have procured information, as to the sum raised
annually for _parish_ roads (generally denominated highways) but they
have not yet enquired into the amount of the much greater sum raised for
the maintenance of the _turnpike_ roads, nor into the amount of the debt
incurred for the same purpose.
These funds, considerable as they are, continue to be expended,
_nominally_, under the direction of Commissioners, but _effectually_ and
_practically_ under the Surveyors, over whom the Commissioners have very
uncertain means of useful controul; and there is no doubt, that much
abuse exists in the expenditure, partly from ignorance, but much more
from peculation and patronage very much misplaced.
Under such circumstances the protection of the funds would be promoted
by the inspection and controul of a superior officer; and finally it
might be desirable, that a report from each trust should be made to
Parliament of the receipt and expenditure for the year.
That the funds provided by Parliament for the roads are either
insufficient for the object, or that they are improvidently expended, is
best proved by the numerous applications to Parliament in every Session,
for extension of powers and increase of tolls; setting forth that
without such aid the debts cannot be paid, nor the roads kept in repair.
In the Session of Parliament 1815, thirty-four such petitions were
presented; and in the Session of 1816, thirty-two; all which bills were
passed _as a matter of course_; the petitioners being only required to
prove the _actual necessity_ to the Committee, but no enquiry seems to
have been made as to the _cause_ of that necessity.
An efficient, uniform and constant controul of the expenditure of road
funds, and an annual report of the result to Parliament would enable the
House of Commons to form a judgment, whether the deficiency proceeded
from inadequacy of the means, or from improvident expenditure; and
thereby that Honourable House would be enabled to use means for
preventing the growing amount of debt, which the petitions presented
each Sessions sufficiently shew to be increasing to an alarming degree;
and which, being incurred under the authority of Parliament, must
ultimately become a claim upon the justice of the country.
Upon consideration of this important subject it appears, that a review
of the turnpike laws has become indispensable, for the purpose of
altering and amending obsolete, useless, and oppressive regulations; and
for substituting others more consonant with the present state of
society. This review is required by experience of the inadequacy of the
present system, to the great object of forming the best and easiest
communications through every part of the country, with a due regard to
economy; and for preventing the increase of a debt, which has been
allowed, _in silence_, to accumulate to an extent, that will hardly be
credited when properly and accurately ascertained.
Many and important improvements have originated from the good sense and
zeal of individual Commissioners, or from particular district meetings,
the good effects of which have been confined to the place of origin;
such improvements have also ceased to operate, on the death or removal
of their authors, and have been thereby finally lost, for want of a
general superintendance, which would have an interest in the improvement
of the whole.
The defective state of the roads, independent of the unnecessary
expence, is oppressive on agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, by
the increase of the price of transport, by waste of the labour of
cattle, and wear of carriages, as well as by causing much delay of time.
Under an efficient and responsible executive department, established and
directed by the wisdom of Parliament, this subject would be brought
within the means of examination and regulation; and many local
improvements, which have been confined to small districts, would be
brought forward, and communicated generally for the public benefit.[7]
Footnote 7:
Since this Essay was written, I have visited England, and have found,
on a journey of many hundred miles, scarcely twenty miles of well-made
road. In many parts of the country, and especially round London, the
roads are in a shameful condition. This must strike the public; and
sooner or later the good sense of the English nation will feel the
necessity of adopting some means of improvement.
EDGEWORTH’S ESSAY, Preface, p. 7.
In Ireland, the cross roads are generally better than the great roads,
and comparing all the roads in that country with the roads in England,
the shameful inferiority of the latter would evidently appear.
EDGEWORTH’S ESSAY, p. 46.
The Author has abstained from any notice of the parish roads; although
their condition and the state of their funds, are more deplorable than
that of the turnpike roads. The Legislative enactments for their
maintenance and repair are so inadequate to the object, that they may be
considered as being placed almost out of the protection of the law.
There can be no apparent good reason, why, such a distinction should be
made between the two description of roads; and their being both placed
under the care of the Commissioners, with the benefit of the scientific
direction of a General Surveyor, would ensure an equal improvement of
the parish roads.
_The foregoing Remarks on Roads cannot be better concluded than by the
following Extract from the Report of the Committee of the House of
Commons in 1811._
“The many important advantages to be derived from amending the highways
and turnpike roads of the kingdom need hardly be dwelt upon. Every
individual in it would thereby find his comforts materially increased,
and his interest greatly promoted. By the improvement of our roads,
every branch of our agricultural, commercial, and manufacturing industry
would be materially benefited. Every article brought to market would be
diminished in price; the number of horses would be so much reduced, that
by these, and other retrenchments, the expence of FIVE MILLIONS would be
annually saved to the public. The expence of repairing roads, and the
wear and tear of carriages and horses, would be essentially diminished;
and thousands of acres, the produce of which is now wasted in feeding
unnecessary horses, would be devoted to the production of food for man.
In short, the public and private advantages, which would result from
effecting that great object, the improvement of our highways and
turnpike roads, are incalculable; though from their being spread over a
wide surface, and available in various ways, such advantages will not be
so apparent as those derived from other sources of improvement, of a
more restricted and less general nature.”
Appendix.
_Extracts from Observations on the Highways of the Kingdom, by_ JOHN
LOUDON MᶜADAM, _presented to a Committee of the House of Commons, and
printed by order of the House, 14th June 1811_.
“In all the Reports of Committees of the House of Commons on the subject
of Roads, they seem to have had principally in view the construction of
wheeled carriages, the weights they were to draw, and the breadth and
form of their wheels; the nature of the roads on which these carriages
were to travel has not been so well attended to.”
“The observations I have made in a period of twenty-six years on the
roads of the kingdom, in which time I have travelled over the greater
number in England and Scotland, and the opportunities I have had of
making comparisons on the different materials and the modes of their
application, have led me to form the following conclusions.”
“1st. That the present bad condition of the roads of the kingdom is
owing to the injudicious application of the materials with which they
are repaired, and to the defective form of the roads.”
“2nd. That the introduction of a better system of making the _surface_
of roads, and the application of scientific principles, which has
hitherto never been thought of, would remedy the evil.”
“In illustration of these positions, I beg to observe, that the object
to be attained in a good road, as far as regards the surface, is to have
it smooth, solid, and so flat as that a carriage may stand upright;
these objects are not attained by the present system, because no
scientific principles are applied; but it is presumed they are perfectly
attainable in all parts of the country.”
“Stone is to be procured in some form in almost every part of the
kingdom, and a road made of small broken stone to the depth of ten
inches, will be smooth, solid and durable.”
“The materials of which the present roads are composed, are not worn
out; but are displaced by the action of the wheels of carriages upon
stones of too large a size: the wheel does not _pass over_ the materials
of which the road is formed, but is constantly, almost at every step,
encountering an obstacle which must either give way and be removed, or
the carriage must be lifted by the force of the cattle so as to surmount
it; in either case the road is injured, and the carriage impeded, and
the injury and impediment will be great in the exact proportion to the
number and size of the obstacles.”
“The size of stones for a road has been described in contracts in
several different ways, sometimes as the size of a hen’s egg, sometimes
at half a pound weight. These descriptions are very vague, the first
being an indefinite size, and the latter depending on the density of the
stone used, and _neither_ being attended to in the execution. The size
of stone used on a road must be in due proportion to the space occupied
by a wheel of ordinary dimensions on a smooth level surface, this point
of contact will be found to be, longitudinally about an inch, and every
piece of stone put into a road, which exceeds an inch in any of its
dimensions, is mischievous.”
“The roads in Scotland are worse than those in England, although,
materials are more abundant, of better quality, and labour at _least_ as
cheap, and the toll duties are nearly double; this is because
road-making, that is the surface, is even worse understood in Scotland
than in England. By a late discussion in Parliament on the subject of
Mail Coaches paying toll, it was universally allowed that the roads in
Scotland were in a deplorable state, and in their circumstances,
bankrupt.”
* * * * *
NOTE.—_It is understood, that the Postmaster-General was obliged to give
up the mail-coach from Glasgow to Ayr, on the road towards Ireland, on
account of the expence of tolls, and the bad condition of the road;
there being ten turnpike gates on thirty-four miles of road._
During nearly five years that the writer has given his whole attention
to the improvement of the Turnpike Roads, experience having confirmed
his ideas on the subject, no endeavours have been spared, to extend the
benefits which have already resulted to the Bristol district, over the
whole country. The very limited means possessed by any individual for
influencing this important branch of domestic economy, has occasioned
frequent attempts to convey instructions for road-making in writing.
This method has never been entirely successful; it being impossible to
acquire a mechanical art without actual practice; or to obtain any just
ideas of it, beyond the first principles, from books.
These principles are, that a road ought to be considered as an
artificial flooring forming a strong, smooth, solid surface, at once
capable of carrying great weight, and over which carriages may pass
without meeting any impediment.
_Directions for Repair of an old Road, being the substance of a
Communication made to a Committee of the Honourable House of Commons in_
1811, _and published with the Report by Order of the House, with
additions and alterations, deduced from actual practice during the last
three years._
_1st February, 1819._
No addition of materials is to be brought upon a road, unless in any
part of it be found that there is not a quantity of clean stone equal to
ten inches in thickness.
The stone already in the road is to be loosened up and broken, so as no
piece shall exceed six ounces in weight.
The road is then to be laid as flat as possible, a rise of three inches
from the centre to the side is sufficient for a road thirty feet wide.
The stones when loosened in the road are to be gathered off by means of
a strong heavy rake, with teeth two and a half inches in length, to the
side of the road, and there broken, and on no account are stones to be
broken _on_ the road.
When the great stones have been removed, and none left in the road
exceeding six ounces, the road is to be put in shape and a rake employed
to smooth the surface, which will at the same time bring to the surface
the remaining stone, and will allow the dirt to go down.
When the road is so prepared, the stone that has been broken by the side
of the road is then to be carefully spread on it—this is rather a nice
operation, and the future quality of the road will greatly depend on the
manner in which it is performed. The stone must not be laid on in
shovels full, but scattered over the surface, one shovel full following
another and spreading over a considerable space.
Only a small space of road should be lifted at once; five men in a gang
should be set to lift it _all across_: two men should continue to pick
up and rake off the large stones and to form the road for receiving the
broken stone, the other three should break stones—the broken stone to be
laid on as soon as the piece of road is prepared to receive it, and then
break up another piece; two or three yards at one lift is enough.
The proportioning the work among the five men must of course be
regulated by the nature of the road; when there are many very large
stones, the three breakers may not be able to keep pace with the two men
employed in lifting and forming, and when there are few large stones the
contrary may be the case; of all this the Surveyor must judge and
direct.
But while it is recommended to lift and relay roads which have been made
with large stone, or with large stone mixed with clay, chalk or other
mischievous materials, there are many cases in which it would be highly
unprofitable to lift and relay a road, even if the materials should have
been originally too large.
The road between Cirencester and Bath is made of stone too large in
size, but it is of so friable a nature that in lifting it becomes sand;
in this case I recommended cutting down the high places, keeping the
surface smooth and gradually wearing out the materials now in the road,
and then replacing them with some stone of a better quality properly
prepared.
In like manner a part of the road in the Bath district is made of
freestone which it would be unprofitable to lift.
At Egham in Surrey, it was necessary to remove the whole road to
separate the small portion of valuable materials from the mass of soft
matter of which it was principally composed which was removed at
considerable expence, before a road could be again made upon the site.
Other cases of several kinds have occurred where a different method must
be adopted, but which it is impossible to specify, and must be met by
the practical skill of the Officer whose duty it may be to superintend
the repair of a road, and who must constantly recur to general
principles. These principles are uniform, however much circumstances may
differ, and they must form the guide by which his judgment must be
always directed.
When additional stone is wanted on a road that has consolidated by use,
the old hardened surface of the road is to be loosened with a pick, in
order to make the fresh materials unite with the old.
Carriages, whatever be the construction of their wheels, will make ruts
in a new-made road until it consolidates, however well the materials may
be prepared, or however judiciously applied; therefore a careful person
must attend for some time after the road is opened for use, to rake in
the track made by wheels.
The only proper method of breaking stones, both for effect and economy,
is by persons _sitting_; the stones are to be placed in small heaps, and
women, boys, or old men past hard labour, must sit down with small
hammers and break them, so as none shall exceed six ounces in weight.
_The Tools to be used are,—_
Strong picks, but short from the handle to the point, for lifting the
road.
Small hammers of about one pound weight in the head, the face the size
of a new shilling, well steeled, with a short handle.
Rakes with wooden heads, ten inches in length, and iron teeth about two
and a half inches in length, very strong for raking out the large stones
when the road is broken up, and for keeping the road smooth after being
relaid, and while it is consolidating.
Very light broad-mouthed shovels, to spread the broken stone and to form
the road.
Every road is to be made of broken stone without mixture of earth, clay,
chalk, or any other matter that will imbibe water, and be affected with
frost; nothing is to be laid on the clean stone on pretence of
_binding_; broken stone will combine by its own angles into a smooth
solid surface that cannot be affected by vicissitudes of weather, or
displaced by the action of wheels, which will pass over it without a
jolt, and consequently without injury.