wardens in places where no surveyor or surveyors were elected previously to the place forming part of a highway district.

A waywarden shall continue to act until his successor is appointed, and shall be re-eligible.

The highway board of a district are at their first meeting, or at some adjournment thereof, by writing under their seal, to appoint a treasurer, clerk, and district surveyor; they may also at any meeting, if they think fit, appoint an assistant surveyor.

The following are the most important provisions of the Highway Act, 1862,* with respect to the "works and duties" of the boards :

The highway board shall maintain in good repair the highways within their district,† and shall perform the same duties, have the same powers, and be liable to the same legal proceedings as the surveyor of such parish would have performed, had, and been liable to if this act had not passed. It shall be the duty of the district surveyor to submit to the board at their first meeting in every year an estimate of the expenses likely to be incurred during the ensuing year for maintaining and keeping in repair the highways in each parish within the district of the board, and to deliver a copy of such estimate, as approved or modified by the board, so far as the same relates to each parish, to the waywarden of such parish.

Where complaint is made to any justice of the peace that any highway within the jurisdiction of the high* 25 & 26 Vict. c. 61, secs. 17-19.

† But this is now subject to the provisions of the Local Government Act, 1888, with reference to the maintenance, &c., of "main roads," as to which see note p. 98.

way board is out of repair, the justice shall issue two summonses, the one addressed to the highway board, and the other to the waywarden of the parish liable to the repair of such highway, requiring such board and waywarden to appear before the justices at some petty sessions, in the summons mentioned, to be held in the division where such highway is situate; and at such petty sessions, unless the board undertake to repair the road to the satisfaction of the justices, or unless the waywarden deny the liability of the parish to repair, the justices shall direct the board to appear at some subsequent petty sessions to be then named, and shall either appoint some competent person to view the highway, and report to them on its state at such other petty sessions, or fix a day, previous to such petty sessions, at which two or more of such justices will themselves attend to view the highway.

At such last-mentioned petty sessions, if the justices are satisfied either by the report of the person so appointed, or by such view as aforesaid, that the highway complained of is not in a state of complete repair, it shall be their duty to make an order on the board limiting a time for the repair of the highway complained of; and if such highway is not put in complete and effectual repair by the time limited in the order, the justices in petty sessions shall appoint some person to put the highway into repair, and shall by order direct that the expenses of making such repairs, together with a reasonable remuneration to the person appointed for superintending such repairs, and amounting to a sum specified in the order, together with the costs of the proceedings, shall be paid by the board;

and any order made for the payment of such costs and expenses may be removed into the Court of Queen's Bench, in the same manner as if it were an order of general or quarter sessions, and be enforced accordingly.

All expenses so directed to be paid by the board in respect of the repairs of any highway shall be deemed to be expenses incurred by the board in repairing such highway, and shall be recovered accordingly.

The highway board may appear before the justices at petty sessions by their district surveyor or clerk, or any member of the board.

When, on the hearing of any such summons respecting the repair of any highway, the liability to repair is denied by the waywarden on behalf of his parish, or by any party charged therewith, the justices shall direct a bill of indictment to be preferred, and the necessary witnesses in support thereof to be subpoenaed, at the next assizes to be holden in and for the said county, or at the next general quarter sessions of the peace for the county, riding, division, or place wherein such highway is situate, against the inhabitants of the parish, or the party charged therewith, for suffering and permitting the said highway to be out of repair: and the costs of such prosecution shall be paid by such party to the proceedings as the court before whom the case is tried shall direct; and if directed to be paid by the parish shall be deemed to be expenses incurred by such parish in keeping its highways in repair, and shall be paid accordingly.

The mode of proceeding for the expenses incurred

by a highway board is now regulated by the Highways Act of 1878 (41 & 42 Vict. c. 77), the seventh section of which provides that all expenses incurred by any highway board in maintaining and keeping in repair the highways of each parish within their district, and all other expenses legally incurred by such board, shall be charged on the District Fund; i.e., a fund contributed by, and charged upon the several highway parishes in

district in proportion to the rateable value of the property in each parish. But if a highway board think it just, by reason of natural difference of soil, or other exceptional conditions, that any parish or parishes within their district should bear the expense of maintaining it or their own highways, they may (with the approval of the county authority or authorities) divide their district into two parts, and charge exclusively on each of such parts the expense of maintaining and keeping in repair the highways situate in each such part; so, nevertheless, that each such part shall consist of one or more highway parish or parishes.

If any person feels aggrieved by any rate levied on him for the purpose of raising moneys payable under a precept of a highway board on the ground of incorrectness in the valuation of any property included in Buch rate, or of any person being put on or left out of such rate, or of the inequality or unfairness of the sum charged on any person or persons therein, he may appeal to the justices in special sessions.

Where any waywarden of a highway parish of a district, or any ratepayer of such parish feels aggrieved in respect of any order of the highway board for the repair of any highway in his parish on the ground

that such highway is not legally repairable by the parish, or in respect of any other order of the board, on the ground that the matter to which such order relates is one in regard to which the board have no jurisdiction to make an order; or in respect of the contribution required to be made by each parish to the district fund on the ground that such amount, when compared with the contribution of other parishes in the district, is not according to the proportion required by this act ;-He may appeal to the court of general or quarter sessions having jurisdiction in the district; but no appeal is to be had in respect of any exercise of the discretion of the board in matters within their discretion.

Highway boards may unite in appointing a surveyor who will in relation to each of the boards have all the powers and duties of a district surveyor (41 & 42 Vict. c. 77, s. 6).

If members of a highway board, acting through their surveyor, exceed their powers, the surveyor will be personally liable for the trespass.

A highway board may make the following improvements in the highways within their jurisdiction, and may, with the approval of the justices in general or quarter sessions assembled, borrow money for the purpose of defraying the expenses of such improvements:

1. The conversion of any road that has not been stoned into a stoned road.

2. The widening of any road, the cutting off the corners in any road where land is required to be purchased for that purpose, the levelling roads, the making any new road, and the building or enlarging bridges.