What width would you in general recommend for laying materials on a turnpike road?—That must depend upon the situation. Near great towns roads of course ought to be wider than farther in the country. Roads near great towns ought not to be less than thirty or forty feet wide, but at a distance from great towns it would be a waste of land to make them so wide.
You mean a breadth of thirty feet actual road?—Yes. The access to Bristol for a distance of about three miles, if we had room between the hedges, I would make about thirty feet wide. Between Bath and Bristol I should wish to see the road wide all the way, because it is only the distance of twelve miles between two large cities.
In what way do you make the watercourses at the sides of the road; I ask that question, having observed the farmers, in exercising their power of cleaning out their ditches, dig them to such a depth as to render them dangerous to be passed at night?—I always wished the ditch to be so dug as that the materials of the road should be three or four inches above the level of the water in the ditch, and to that point we endeavour to bring the farmers, but they are very unwilling to clean the ditches at any time when called upon, and when they do it, if they find vegetable mould in any quantity at the bottom of the ditch, they will prosecute their inquiry much deeper than is useful, or proper for safety.
Do you consider you have power by law, at present, for preventing that?—Yes; because the law says, they are to clean them out according to the directions of the surveyors.
In your experience have you found any impediment to the improvement of the roads, from a want of power in the proprietors of different navigations to lower their tolls for conveying materials?—I have found in the river Lea navigation, that the trustees have no power to lower their tolls, which were imposed by act of parliament upon merchandise, and therefore, it
