THE WHOLE EXHIBITED IN A CONVENIENT FORM FOR REFERENCE,

FOR THE ESPECIAL USE OF OFFICERS OF MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS, LOCAL
BOARDS, AND HIGHWAY BOARDS, AND OF JUSTICES' CLERKS,

OF THE INNER TEMPLE, BARRISTER-AT-LAW;

AN ASSOCIATE OF KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON, (ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT); AND
LATE AN INSPECTOR OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD.

Author of "A Digest of the Law relating to Public Health," and other Works.

LONDON:

STEVENS & SONS, 119 CHANCERY LANE,

Taw Publishers and Booksellers.

1878.

Addenda et Corrigenda.

Page 18. § 44 of the "Highway Act, 1835," has been repealed since this page was printed off, by the "Highway Act, 1878," § 9.

Page 72.-§ 36 of the "Highway Act, 1864," has been repealed in part and modified in part, since this page was printed off, by the "Highway Act, 1878," § 9.

PRINTED BY
FARNCOMBE & CO., LEWES.

AND

SPOTTISWOODE & Co., LONDON.

Preface.

TH

HIS volume is not submitted to the Public as an ambitious Treatise on the subject of Highways, but as simply a Repertory of useful information based upon the modern Statutes and modern decisions in the Superior Courts. Though, of course, there has been such a thing as Highway Law from a very early period in the History of England it so happens that for guidance in the administration of the Law in the present day one has not to look, speaking generally, beyond the limits of a comparatively small number of Statutes, all of recent date, or beyond the Cases which have been decided upon those Statutes.

These observations will suggest a reason why I have not attempted to work up my materials into the form of a Treatise; for though, like most other branches of Statute Law, the "Highway Acts" may be said to exhibit a good deal of patchwork, yet this criticism is not sweepingly true of Highway Law in the sense in which it is true of Public Health Law, as to which Digests, and Abstracts, and Indexes of the most elaborate character are requisite if a reader would find his way about through the maze of confusion and contradiction which Parliament has manufactured during the last quarter of century, and which has given so much work to lawyers.

The Highway Division of this work has been arranged more especially with the view of its being useful to Clerks of Highway Authorities, whether Town Clerks or Clerks of Local Boards or Highway Boards, for purposes of reference.

Part I. contains the Statutes in strictly chronological order, with such few notes and references as seemed requisite, but without, as a rule, formal explanatory comments.

Part II. contains Notes of nearly all the decisions on Highway Law which are at all likely to be useful in the present day. These Notes will seldom be found to be mere transcripts of the Head Notes of the Reports, but in most instances furnish an original Digest of the leading principles of Law which are to be gathered from the particular Cases, and they are so arranged as far as may be, to enable the practitioner to dispense with the necessity of consulting for himself a number of bulky volumes. As the Law Journal Reports have been published continuously from a time preceding by several years the "Highway Act, 1835," that periodical has been named first in the references as often as it contained a Report of a Case; then follow references to other Reports.

In making a Scheme for the classification of the Cases I have experienced great difficulty, and I am far from wishing it to be considered that the classification adopted cannot be improved. The Cases have been arranged in what, according to the best of my judgment, was the most convenient order for purposes of reference. The Cases of each group are arranged alphabetically.

Turnpike Roads have been almost entirely ignored in this work for the twofold reason that they are regulated by an enormous number of what are virtually Private Acts of Parliament, and because the day may not be far distant when Turnpike Highway Law will have ceased to exist because of the entire abolition of Turnpikes.

The General Index to the Highway Division of the work will be found so full as to constitute what might almost be called an Analytical Digest of Highway Statute Law.

As regards the Division of the work which relates to the Lighting of Roads in Rural Parishes I only desire to say that the subject is obviously one so closely related to that of Highways that there is no incongruity (but the reverse) in dealing with both matters in the same volume. But the materials as to the Law of Lighting are scanty: such as they are they will be found in Book II. of this work.

In the preparation of the "Digest of Cases" I have received most material assistance from Mr. H. J. Hood, of the Equity Bar. His patient and careful revision of my M.S. notes has greatly contributed to their practical usefulness.

1, Cloisters, Temple, September, 1878.

G. F. C.

A Tabular Statement of Offences and Punishments under the "Highway Acts" viii