HIGHWAY ACT, 1878—DISTURNPIKED ROADS.—OBSERVATIONS. (Hansard, 24 March 1879)

§ EARL DE LA WARR

rose to call attention to the Highway Act of last Session, with special reference to Clause 13, by which roads disturnpiked previous to the 31st December, 1870, are excluded from becoming main roads; and to move for a Return of highways which have been disturnpiked since the year 1870. The noble Earl said, that the objects of the Act seemed to have been to afford relief to ratepayers in districts and parishes where turnpike roads formerly existed but which had since been abolished, the effect being to throw additional burdens upon ratepayers for the maintenance of highways. This end was proposed in the Act to be attained by making disturnpiked roads main roads, and paying half the expense of their maintenance out of the county rate. No one could question that this was an object much to be desired—especially in agricultural districts where the heavy and often increasing burdens upon land were already much felt. But by the operation of Clause 13 of the Act, the expected benefit appeared in only a comparatively few instances to have been realized. Under that clause, it was confined to roads which had been, or should be, disturnpiked since the year 1870, and no others were entitled to the benefits provided for in the Act—namely, that one-half of the expenses of the maintenance of the road should be paid for by the county, unless there were exceptional circumstances. Now, it was difficult to understand why this limitation should have been made, and why a road which was disturnpiked, say in the 1498 year 1868, should not receive the same advantages as roads disturnpiked in 1871, or afterwards. There were many instances of that inequality being much felt. He would mention one of which he happened to have the particulars. It was a parish in an agricultural district of Sussex. The trust of a turnpike road running through the parish was abolished in the year 1868; and to show the effect upon the rates in consequence of that, it appeared that during the time the trust existed the average sum paid annually for the maintenance of highways by the ratepayers was £215; since the abolition of the trust the average sum had been £351—being an increase of more than one-half. In the adjoining parish the trust was abolished after 1870, and they were consequently in a position to claim the benefit of the Highway Act. There seemed to be some hardship in this; and as a large number of trusts were abolished previous to the year 1870, there were many cases similar to that to which he had referred. It was true that Clause 15 of the Act gave power to a highway authority, such as the Quarter Sessions, to make any road a main road; but it was only in limited and exceptional circumstances, such as being a thoroughfare to a railway station or a medium of communication between great towns, and was not likely to be of extensive application; and it was evident there might be important highways to which those conditions would not apply. He had brought this subject under their Lordships' notice, as he thought it was unadvisable to put additional charges upon ratepayers, especially in agricultural districts where the land was already heavily burdened, and among the burdens the maintenance of highways was not one of the least. In existing circumstances, and in regard to the changes which were being made in local administration, they might look to advantages which would arise from extending rather than limiting the area of taxation, and thus include property which was now exempt in a great measure from the burdens which fell upon land. He ventured to hope that the subject would receive the consideration of Her Majesty's Government, whether further relief might not be afforded to ratepayers by an extension of the provisions of the Highway Act of last Session. The noble Earl then moved for a Return.

THE DUKE OF RICHMOND AND GORDON

reminded their Lordships that the Act was but a recent one, and probably had not been worked out in all its details. He did not agree with his noble Friend that whole districts had been left out of the Bill; but he did think that the Act applied to roads of which the noble Earl had alluded, because it was in the power of highway authorities to declare a road a main road and bring it within the operation of the Act. The Government were not prepared to bring in an amending Bill; but there might be eventually a necessity to bring in a Bill to consolidate the various measures relating to highways. Some of the information moved for by the noble Earl was already available, having been laid before the House of Commons on the Motion of Lord George Cavendish. To the other Returns asked for there was no objection.