INTRODUCTION.

13

weak and rutted. In those districts where theyare repaired with gravel, they are almost impassablein winter; the diligences with six horses with diffi-culty travel four miles an hour. In other districts,where the materials are harder, a road is seldom tobe seen with a smooth surface and of sufficientstrength. Very extensive tracts of the kingdomare wholly without regularly formed roads; and,therefore, however valuable the efforts of thestatesmen of France may have been in bringingthe business of road-making to the point at whichit has arrived, there is still wanting some new planof legislation, by which good roads may be made,not only from one town to another, but into andthrough every commune in France .

In Spain the caminos reales , or king’s highways,are not numerous, nor are they kept in good re-pair. Taking Madrid as a point of departure, thereare two good roads to Burgos; one passing throughValladolid, and the other through Aranda de Duero .From Burgos, the road is continued by Vittoriaand Iran to France . Both these roads are in tole-rable repair. From Valladolid a good road hasbeen made by Valentia and Reynosa to Santander.There are two good roads to Bilboa ; one byMiranda, the other by Vittoria.

To the northward, there is a camino reale throughGallicia to Corunna and Ferrol ; but in such wantof repair, as to be impassable in numerous placesfor loaded carriages; attempts are, however, nowmaking to improve it. In Catalonia the roads arecomparatively numerous and good.