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\ tlic CDiirt of Sessions. IV. That a lliol.wuvs lioMid be ai)i)<»iiit<'d ainnially by the Sessions, whieli Board sliall be eomposeil ol' three .Iiistices resi- dent in tlie district k r section, before mentioned, whose (bity and powers sliall be as follows: (^/) To make an estimate of the amount of money re<]uired for road purj)oses in the district, and fyle the same with the Clerk of the Peace on or before a certain date, which date mav be fixed by the Sessions. (/>) To advertize and receive tenders for the maintenance ot the highways in the district, as mentioned in clause uund)er two. () The remainder to l)e raised by a tax on real or personal property and income. (f) The whole to be collected in the same manner as other county taxes. We will now proceed to show the advantages of this system over the one which now exists, and its snitableness to meet the requirements of this province. First, The existing system of statnte labor, with its attendant evils, wonld be removed. Second, It would be the means of educating a class of men, who, giving much of their time to road making or rei3airi'ig, would soon become proficient in that department of science. Third, By mtiking these contractors responsible to the lligli- ways Hoard, the people could make complaints of bad roads with some hope of a hearing, and a removal of the grievance. Lastly, It would prevent the granting of commissions to secure political ends. Let us briefly discuss these advantages separately. I. ON THE ABOLITION OF STATUTE LABOR. There are few arguments in favor of this system as a means of maintaining the public roads. The only thing it appears to have in its favor is the fact that people prize money more than their labor, which is equal to saying that in many cases it is difficult to convert labor into money. But this, as we shall see, is merely an appearance^ not reality. What is the system of statute labor as it now exis*^s? Li the first place there is a poll-tax of two days' labor, for which all m les over 16 years of age are liable. In addition to this a property tax is imposed according to the following scale : # Puhlu' Jluadn in Nova Scotia. 9 In JtflOO to V200, liable to perforin 1 day. si<200 to ltt<400, ' 8 days. >i<400 to >Sm Enfield to Shubenacadie. 12 Public Roads in Nova Scotia. III. The third advantage derived from our system would be to afford the travelling public a chance to be, in some measure, the judges of their own roads, since they could lodge complaints with the hope of having their grievances redressed. It is re- markable how people will drive from day to day and from week to week over rough roads, will submit to be jolted and pitched about in any shape or form, yet never think of notifying the overseer that the road under his charge is needing repairs. No doubt this forl)earance on the part of travellers is due to the fact that there is no one to whom he may apply with any hope of having the grievance removed. By making this con- tractor responsible to the Board, it would be for his advantage to have as few public complaints as possible. IV. We have now to consider a very important advantage resulting from the adoption of (Uir p^opo^ed system. We believe that the control of the funds for the sup])ort of the public roads should be placed beyond the control of mem- bers of ^larliament. Often, under the present system, commis- sions are granted to persons utterly incapable of expending the money judiciously, merely to procure political influence. Need we ask is this right? Need we say that it is public robbery of the most scandalous nature. An elector applies to the member for his county to grant money on a certain piece of road, which probably is not needing repairs nearly so much as many other parts of the road. We can easily imagine the position of the M. P. P. He argues thuo: ''Mr. has applied to me for money on his road. If I grant this I am sure of his support at the polls. If I refuse, I am in great danger of losing his vote." As a m.atter of course, he grants his supporter a commission. In many instances this money is little better than thrown away. Suppose a man receives a grant of forty dollars and that he expends this sum in six days. His own wages, at one dollar and twenty-five cents per day, would amount to seven Public Roads in Nova Scotia. 18 the dollars and fifty cents ; add to this his commission at live i)er cent, and^ the overseer pockets nine dollars and fifty cents, or nearl}' one quarter of the whole amount. This amount is lost, since of course the overseer is not bound to labor, anything fur- ther than to "l)oss the crowd." It is true that the law provides that an overseer sliall not have less than ten men employed. Seldom, however, is this provision regarded ; for it is difficult, in many districts, to g^at ten men who are willing to work on the roads. Examples are not wanting to show the frivolous manner in which hundreds of dollars of the public funds are thus thrown away. A famous instance of this ''highway" robbery lately came to our notice of a man who gets an annual grant of from sixty to one hundred dollars for the maintenance (?) of '^ cer- tain piece of road. Last year ('76), commencing to work as soon as the snow was off, he was able, by the time his returns should be lodged with the Clerk of the Peace, to have his wliole commission, about sixty dollars, expended on himself. This we have received as a true statement from the chief magistrate to whorxi his return was sent. Were the public made acciuainted with the sums thus scpiandered annually in the interests of pol- iticians, it would awaken such a storm of indignation as would immediately lead to the abolition of th"3 system, and the adop- tion of one where such scandalous abuses would be an impossi- bility. Members of parliament say they are unwilling to give u]) their privilege. Undoubtedly they are. Who would blame them? They are but men, and not by any means the most self- denying species of mankind. As long as the people are content to look quietly on while the public funds are scjuandered for political ends, so long will the members hold their privilege, and so long will the puljlic roads continue to get worse and worse, until life and limb will be no longer safe u^on them. 14 Public Roads in Nova Scotia. Surely our government cannot have the welfare of the country at heart. Do they not know that the deveh)pment of the resources of a country such as ours depends largely on the opening up and maintenance of commodious roads? Perliaps they imagine that the resources of our province are already fully developed. The ancient Incas of Peru put us to shame in this respect. Montaigne makes mention of a road, built by them, which was nine hundred miles in length, twenty-five paces wide, made of stones ten feet square, with a stream of running water and a row of trees on each side. The Romans well knew the value of roads ; hence, their first care, after gaining a foothold on any new territory, was to make it accessible by opening up and maintaining good roads. In Italy, alone, they are said to have constructed not less than fourteen lumdred miles of road. Many sections of this remain to the present day, having stood the traffic of over two thousand years. In England, also, their paved roads or strata are still to be found. If all the money expended on our roads during the past cen- tury had l)een judiciously applied, they might now be in first- class condition. They might be, but evidently they are far from it. And shall the same cry be echoed at the end of the next century? We are more hopeful. This, however, we do believe, that if no change be made in the system of maintaining them, they will not then be in the mme condition, but greatly hifWior to what they now are. The cry comes to us from almost every section of the country "• our roads are fast going to destruction." The people are be- ginning to feel that reform is a necessity. This is just where reform in the matter must originate. The people have a right to see that every cent of the public; funds is expended to the best advantage. We think we have shown that our funds for road purposes are not thus expended. FTow then can they be economized ? We answer, let them be Piihllc Roada in Nova Scotia. ir, f the 3nt of in the 3rhaps J fully ;s]3ect. }h was ade of and a due of )n any ip and 3 have road. [ stood 3, their ist cen- n first- are far of the we do taining" greatly ountry are be- t where 1 piddii; VQ have pended. hein b(» ? supported by contra(3t. 'J'his is the only way in which public money can be profitably expended. Take, for example, the pa\ of mail carriers throughout the province. We believe that no mail carrier gets overpaid, while many are not more than Iwili" paid. Every cent which they receive, they earn. And so it would be with road money were our system adopted. There is plenty of money expended, but it is misapi)lied or s(piandered uselessly. This will be more apparent if we ex- amine the statistics furnished by the parliamentary journals. Take, for example, the year 1876. and county of Halifax. Whole sum granted im- Roads and bridges, 118,005.00. ^ Real sum expended, - ^ _ _ |21,190 86 ^ Amount expended on Bridges, - - 708 00 ^ #20,487 86 242 -184 m 1300 ■ $15 75 Balance left for Roads, - Number of Commissioners, - - - Average amount per Commissioner, Number of miles of Road, - - . Sum expended per mile, - . . If we add to this the statute labor, the sum is increased to about thirty dollars per mile. Amount paid to Commissioners, allow- ' ' ing that each has wrought eight days, at 11.25 per day, - Percentage on above, paid to Connnis- sioners, at five per cent., .|3,444~5o * Thus we see that one sixth of the whole sum is kept in the hands of the Commissioners. For this amount the roads get no benefit, since the Commissioner is not supposed to perform any labor, further than superintend the others, any of whom are probably as competent to oversee the work as himself. Not many years ago, a gentleman, with his tannly, were travelling from New Brunswick to Nova Scotia by public rcjad. * Amount pocketed by Commissioners. $2,420 00 V $1,024 30 "'r It) Puhlia Roada in Nova Scotia. He remarked frequently that the roads were very smooth. This continued for some fifty or sixty miles, when all at once the carriage commenced to jolt and pitch about in such a man- ner that they coidd scarcely keep their seats. " I say, John I what is the matter?" ''Oh," replied John, the driver, "you must remember you are in Nova Scotia now." The truth was plain. The smooth roads were supported by contract; the Nova Scotia roads by statute labor and commissions. When Sir James Kempt was administrator of the govern- ment, he determined to do away with this system. He rode to Windsor on purpose to inspect the roads. He saw that time and money were alike thrown away. He used his influence to induce the members to give up their privilege, that he might introduce a better system. His efforts were in vain. To those who object to this system we would say, "What other shall we propound?" All who give the subject any thought admit that reform is necessary. Shall we establish a toll system, and spread a net-work of turnpike over the country? We may best settle this question by referring to the history of the system. It is so called from the turnpike or gate turning on an upright axis or pike, at which the tolls are collected. It was first used in England in the reign of Edward III, about the year 1346. A royal commission was appointed to collect tolls on all carriages passing from Saint Giles' to Temple Bar and ( Tray's Inn Lane, l^ondon. From this beginning the system gradually spread over the British Isles. Finding that it was attended with numberless annoyances, the Scotch, in 1669, suc- ceeded in establishing a statute labor system, by which ail per- sons over age were compelled to perform six days' labor for the benefit of the roads. This tax, either in personal labor or by substitution money, was the only way in which the roads — other than turnpikes — were maintained till 1845, when it was abolished by the General Statute Labor Amendment Act (vide 8 and 9 Vict., c. 41). Henceforth the roads were maintained a] t] c al » Public lioadH in Nova Scotia. IT looth. once man- Johul '' you li wan Nova overn- ode to ,t time lice to might •^What !ct any iblisli a )untry ? history turning d. It )out the ct tolls Bar and system it was 369, suc- , ail per- for the )or or by roads • — en it was \.ct (vide aintained by a land assessment. In Ireland, since ISc , the public r(»ads are kept up by a land assessment, and the s^'stem gives entire satisfaction: suiely, therefore, it will succeed in any other country. England and Wales still groan under the self-im- posed yoke ; but the law, however, is now so amended that — if there be no new trusts created — the close of the nineteenth century will see very few toll gates in Britain. Surely, with these facts before us, no one would advocate a toll system. In some countries the roads are maintained by men hired at the public expense on fixed salaries, all the working utensils being provided by government. This system would undoubt- edly give excellent satisfaction. Here, the difficulty is our limited treasury. In some of the New England States this is adopted and works well. When our province is older and rich- er such a system may be introduced but for the next century some more economical plan must be adopted. We know of none better than that now proposed. ■' v'/ The question now arises, " Is this system practicable ? " We can see no weighty objections to its immediate adoption. We have spoken to men in different parts of the province on the subject, and have never yet found one to offer any objec- tions. Many seem to feel that so\je change must be made. The following paragraph froai the Presbyterian WitnesB is very much to the point : '' The reform which is perhaps most urgently needed in Nova Scotia is in connection with our road service. The money granted to counties has to a large extent been wasted. It is a temptation and a snare to the members of the House and to electors as well. The money should be voted and expended on purely business principles, and until such is the case it is vain to talk of purity, honesty, and economy." Let the subject be thoroughly ventilated and frankly dis- cussed for a few months in the leading newspapers, and so far as the people are concerned iiu opposition need be expected. And if the people are once thoroughly aroused, the government ,.i' 18 PuhUc Roada in Nova Scotia. will be forced to bring iil)()iit reform. Why should Nova Scotia tolerate a road system which almost every other civilized prov- ince and country has al)andoiie(l as unjust and defective ? Having thus far discussed the system with reference to the maintenance of roads, we come now brietlv to notice another part of our subject : ■ , THE CONSTRUCTION OF PUBLIC IIOADS. This is by far the less difficult and less complicated part of the subject. Not that it is of little importance how roads are constructed, but the idea being simpler, it is easier to adopt a system. We will allow the government to use their own means to as3ertain where a road is required to be constructed. Here we depend almost wholly upon government grants. As regards the manner of outlay, the same remarks apply here which have been alread^r made in reference to the maintenance of roads. In almost every case the money slundd be expended hj contract. Here, as in the repairing of roads, much money is uselessly wasted through the principle of granting commis- sions. Not long since, a gentleman in the County of Hants obtained a commission for the purpose of making an alteration in a road. When he had completed the change, he was told that he had made no improvement, but rather the reverse. His reply is significant : " I made no agreement to improve the road, all I had to do was to expend the money ; that I have done." Where roads have to be opened up through crown lands, it wo^lld be well for the government to offer liberal grants to settlers, in return for which they should be required to con- struct commodious roads. Thus, as cheaply as by any other means, v/ould the road be built, and '•' public interest " at the same time served by developing the resources of the country. Large tracts of wilderness which are now the undisputed terri- tory of the moose and caribou, want only cultivation to be Public. Uoada in Nova Scotia. n converted into sniilino- Udds and eosy villaoes. Tlic streams are idly daneing over tlie roeks and pebbles, wliose jjower should 1)6 grinding the grain whieli this land might ])ro(hu'e. Un- known treasures lie hidden in the rocks beneath, onlv wantino- the drill and powder of the miner to eheer the hearts and homes of thousands. How, then, can this wealth be made available? The first step is the eonstruction of convenient roads. Too much importance cannot be attached to this subject. Another point deserving of some notice is the time in which road work should be d(,ne. This should be as early in the sum- mer as possible. Road work done in the fall is as good as lost, since the frost and rains of spring not only render them imi)ass- able for the time, but uneven and rough for the whole season. ?9 WINTER ROADS. In a country like ours, where snow frequently lies on the ground for a third piirt of the year, and travelling is done in sleighs, it is of the utmost importance that every precaution be taken to render the winter roads commodious and comfortable. The government should encourage the setting out of trees on the road sides where the snow is most liable to drift. The system of breaking the roads, as it now exists, cannot, we think, be much improved. A justice, or the '^ road contract- ors," should have the power to summon the laboring men of the district when required. While this system 3xists, it is evident that it would be to the advantage of all to plant hedges, thus not only beautifying their farms but lightening their labor. Many other points of importance connected with this sub- ject might be noticed, and those which we have discussed might be enlarged upon ad libitum, but the object and scope of this essay does not permit. We are aware that many points are open to discussion. Some may be surprised that we have made no mention of super- visors or inspectors. We believe that supervisors are a nuis- 20 Puhlic Roads in Nova Scotia. aiice, and their salaries little better than money thrown away. Let the people be the supervisors, and see that the contractor does his work faithfully. Were our system adopted, we believe that in a few years we would not only have good roads ; but the cost of maintaining them, instead of increasing, would very soon dwindle down to a merely nominal sum. a. ir j Thus, although we may never have a Macadam or a ieltord to reform our road system, we may yet rejoice in the enjoyment of that which tends largely to advance the best interests of a country: A Network of Public Roads in Fiust-Class Con- dition. .'I I