§ Sir George Clerk moved, that the report on this Bill be brought up.
§ Mr. Dixonobjected to the Motion. By one of the clauses of this Bill, the trustees had the power of stopping up any by road which may appear to them inconvenient or useless. That was a power which the House ought not to delegate to any trustees whatever. By another clause, if an old woman hung a rag on a hedge, she would be liable to a penalty of 40s., or to an imprisonment of six months, to be inflicted by a single Justice, who might be a trustee of the road; so that a man might be accuser, witness, and Judge. He hoped hon. Members would support his Amendment, that the Bill be re-committed to a Committee of the whole House on Monday next.
§ Sir George Clerksaid, that the Amendment could not then be adopted; it must be moved when the report was examined. The hon. Member could not have paid much attention to the present state of the law, or he would have known, that this Bill hardly made any alteration in its principle, the changes being chiefly in the arrangement and mending of the former law. An hon. friend of his, who 586 had charge of the Bill last Session, not being returned to this Parliament, he had taken it up, and he felt satisfied, that every person connected with Scotland would acknowledge the beneficial effects likely to result from it. The power of imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months was given, but it was for a long list of offences, some of them rendering the parties liable to a penalty of 100l. The offence mentioned by the hon. Gentleman would not, probably, be visited with a heavier penalty than 5s. The Bill had been thoroughly sifted in a Committee up-stairs, and the hon. mover of it, last Session, showed the greatest disposition to adopt all reasonable amendments. The hon. Gentleman attended the Committee several days, and did not offer any of the objections he had now made, although that was certainly the most convenient time for doing so. Under these circumstances he should feel it his duty to resist the motion of the hon. Member.
Mr. Humehad not had an opportunity of looking very attentively into the clauses of this Bill; but some of its provisions seemed very objectionable. Was it fitting that such a power should be given, perhaps to interested persons, as that of shutting up bye roads? It might be proper on certain occasions, but such a power should be subject to many restrictions, and he submitted to the hon. Baronet the expediency of submitting the Bill to a Committee, if it were only to give an opportunity of reconsidering this clause. He found a clause, too, imposing a penalty of 40s. on any one who should hang out clothes to dry on a public highway; no thing was more common in Scotland. There was also a penalty of 40s. imposed on every one who should leave a stone in the middle of a road after using it, perhaps, for stopping a wheel. The clause containing these penalties required some consideration in a Committee; and he hoped, that his hon. friend would move that the Bill be recommitted.
§ Mr. Dixonsaid, that it was a singular fact, that under this Bill was to be found the only case in which there was no appeal to the Sheriff's. The only appeal was to the Quarter Sessions, the Magistrates at which might be trustees of the road.
§ The Report brought up; further consideration postponed.