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moieties brought forward, for 227 miles 552 yards ; for which, ofcourse, contracts had been advertised ;—in whole, executed, ex-ecuting, and in course of being instantly set on foot, 585 miles593 yards, together with their corresponding bridges.
In 1810, an act w r as passed for keeping these roads in repair,by an assessment, not exceeding Is. the pound Scots of valua-tion. Commissioners of Supply were directed to settle what dis-tricts of the county were bound to repair particular roads; or, ifthe county at large was bound. The road was then made indict-able. It w r as competent for any Commissioner of Supply, withineach county possessedof 200/. valuation, or for any five in a neigh-bouring county possessed of 200/. valuation each, to apply, bysummary petition and complaint, either to the Sheriff or Court ofSession, who are authorised to inquire into the repairs necessary;to order them; and to assess the county, or the part of it liable,for them.
Canals afford a still greater facility of communication than roads,where they are practicable. There are four inland canals in Scot-land for public communication.
The Forth and Clyde Canal , cutting across the island from seato sea, betwixt the Firths of the rivers Forth and Clyde, wasthe first in Scotland; and, excepting the Caledonian Canal , wasthe one upon the most extensive scale of any in Great Britain.It is 35 miles in length; in depth exceeding 8 feet; and, inbreadth, and size of locks, admitting-the passage of vessels draw-ing not above 8 feet of water,-and not exceeding 19 feet of beam,nor 73 feet in length. It rises to the height of 160 feet, by meansof 39 locks, viz 20 on the east, and 19 on the west of the summit,the tide not ebbing so low in the Clyde as in the Forth by 9 feet.It is carried through all kinds of soils, over valleys, and up pre-cipices ; it passes over 15 aqueduct bridges of note, besides smallones and tunnels; and it is crossed by 18 drawbridges. It wasbegun in 1768, by subscription; but the work was suspended,from the exhaustion of the funds, in 1775. It w as resumed in1784, upon a loan to the company from Government, of 50,000/.front the forfeited estates, to be applied, when replaced, to roadsin the Highlands, and was finally completed in 1790, having costin whole about 200,000/. For a long time, it was an unprofitableconcern ; the Government loan has been, however, paid up, andit is said now to yield about 15 per cent, upon the shares. Itesta*blishes a communication betwixt the grain counties on the eastcoast of Scotland , and the manufacturing ones on the west.
The Caledonian Canal , when completed, will also join the twoseas, running from the Moray Frith, on the east of the island,to the great arm of the Western Ocean, called Linne-Locb, a-long the line of the military forts, George, Augustus, and Wtt"Ham, in Inverness-shire,—a line of direction pointed out by na-