Chap. VIII.
523
H-)
I-'ig. Ml.
composed of twelve frames close together, each having three cells, one above the other,in which the miners worked. As the work advanced, polling boards were pressed firmagainst the earth by means of screws, and closed the whole area of the excavation in front:this shield weighed 180 tons; the mass of earth removed was 63,000 tons; the weight ofthe brickwork 26,160 tons, and it is stated that the cost was not less than 1200/. for everyyard advanced.
Hoads -The Romans intersected Great Britain with roads, set out in straight lines from
one city to another, and from their military stations and camps to the coast; they were oftenpaved, and remained for centuries in the best possible condition, and were the principalmedia of communication. Some of the great lines may be traced, as may the remains of thesepulchres at their margins, containing coins, vases, ornaments of the dress, and arms. Thename of street is still applied to them, particularly the chief, as Watling, Ikeneld, and Ermine .
The Roman roads were, however, narrow, and as manufactures were introduced, and aconsequent increase of traffic took place, we find a desire to improve these means of com-munication.
In the year 1285 the owners of lands were enjoined to widen the roads, by cutting downtrees on each side to a certain width ; in 1346 a law was passed to levy a toll on someleading out of London, which were reported to be impassable. In the reign of Henry VIII .laws were enacted binding the several parishes to take care of the roads, and annually toselect qualified persons to superintend them: but simple as are the principles of road-making, those appointed are seldom sufficiently instructed on the subject, and being rate-payers are too much interested to allow of the requisite outlay, thus many of the parishroads are in a wretched condition, the system adopted by most parish surveyors beingmerely to fill up the ruts and inequalities with stones picked from the surface of the land,or gravel dug in some convenient spot: this operation, repeated in the spring and autumn,constitutes their whole duty ; no attention being paid to the nature of the soil, or theselection of the material that will bind with it to form a hard exterior crust.
Stage-coach travelling had certainly arisen to a very great perfection before railroads wereintroduced ; the carriages were easy, well-constructed, and drawn by a superior breed ofhorses. Considerable capital had been employed in the improvement of the turnpike roads;hills were levelled or cut through, valleys filled up, and as straight a line as possiblewas obtained ; their repair was never neglected for an instant; immediately any part of thecrust was broken or worn away, it was the signal for a general spreading of fresh material;the smooth surface of the road being previously broken up into furrows to a depth of 2 or 3inches; this process, called lifting, was followed by spreading the stones 3 or 4 inches deep,and raking them even until the whole was consolidated into one entire mass.
The same system should be adopted by the superintendents of all parish roads; anengineer or director should be set over a district or county to see justice done to thepublic, and to instruct those who are too generally incompetent to perform the duties im-posed upon them.
Tlie footways or paths that lead from one village or town to another, equally importantto public convenience, and which hitherto have never been repaired, deserve to bescrupulously regarded and maintained in the best possible condition : no proprietor shouldbe allowed to divert them out of a direct line, and the straightest course should be taken.
Towns, Streets of. — In all large towns it has been found advisable to pave the streetsand footways, and in consequence laws have been established to regulate the expenses, andto elect persons competent to collect and disburse the necessary funds ; various local actswere obtained before the passing of one (which comprised nearly all the measures thendeemed requisite) in the year 1817 (57 Geo. 3. c. 29.), which contains provisions for the