them, in a general or diftrict meeting, may, when it is for the improvement of any highway, alter or straighten the fame, making fuch fatisfaction to the owner as they hall judge reasonable, where the old road, or benefit accruing to fuch owner by the new road, is not a fufficient compenfation provided, that no appeal from, nor fufpenfion of fuch order, fhall, in the mean time, ftop the alteration of the road: provided also, that the commiflioners fhall not carry the roads through any houfe, garden, or orchard, without confent of the owner.

20. All roads fhall be well made and re-paired; and thall be formed with a fall or flope from the centre to the fides; and be well and fufficiently covered with ftones, as well as gravel, where ftones can be had, broken down to a proper fize; and where ftones cannot be had, with good gravel alone, twelve feet in breadth at the leaft, and of a proper depth, not under fourteen inches of flone and gravel together, or fixteen inches of pure gravel, in the centre, according as the overfeer fhall direct: and conduits and waterpaflages fhall be made at all places neceffary for letting off the water, as well underneath the road, as in the neighbourhood of the fame.

21. The commiffioners fhall have power to take from adjacent lands, any ftone, fand, gravel, or other materials for making the faid highroads, paying to the owner fuch fatisfaction as they fhall judge reasonable; and they fhall also have power to make ditches or drains through adjacent lands, and to oblige the proprietors thereof, at their own charges, to clean and fcour the fame, or to pay the expence thereof.

22. When it shall appear to the commiffioners, that the altering, ftraighten. ing, or widening any road lying betwixt adjacent heritors, will cut off fmall and uneven pieces of land from any fuch heritors, then any five of them, at a general or district meeting, may exchange and adjudge fuch pieces of land, hinc inde, with as much equality and convenience as poffible, to the refpective heritors, or the value thereof, not exceeding thirty years purchafe, where land cannot be given for land. 23. Where lands adjacent to highroads are open and uninclofed, the occupier fhall keep a head-land or head-ridge by the fide of the road; and where they are inclofed with ditches, he fhall keep the fame clean, fo that the water may

not ftagnate upon the road: and fon fhall break or abuse the said h or bridges, by laying dung or thereon, or by ploughing any par fame, or by digging or making pit or gaps, across, in, or by the fa by ftopping of water, and making thereupon; or by turning the thereupon; or by fpoiling the f making it noisome or inconvenient other way whatever: and every guilty of fuch offence, being co before any two juftices, fhall be fuitably to the degree of the offen if the actual offenders are not fou occupiers and poffeffors of the nex cent lands thall be held to be the ers, and fhall be fined according ferving to them to fue the real or for their relief; and where any dunghill is laid down upon any roa perfon may take away the fame, propriate it for his own ufe.

24. The commiflioners fhall powered, out of the funds arifing act, to repair bridges, and to bui ones where they hall think ned and they fhall be impowered and red to vifit all ferries, and to app and fufficient boats, with all pro commodations for imbarking and ing horfes and carriages; and to a proper landing-places; and to rates of the paffage, and to make céffary regulations for fuch ferrie his Majefty's fubjects be readily an veniently ferved, at reasonable rate to punish all tranfgreffors against f gulations: and where ferries or lie between two fhires, the commi of fuch thires fhall correspond and together, to the end that proper a regulations be made on both fides ferries; and that the expences of ing fuch bridges may be contribu fuch fhires, in proportion to their rents; and the fheriffs-depute of fhires fhall be impowered to call ti meet for that effect, by intimations market-croffes of the respective he roughs of fuch fhires.

25. The whole freeholders and h pofleffed of 2001. Scots valued rent feveral thires, thall meet, at the tive head boroughs, on the firft T of April yearly, and stent or tax heritors of fuch fhires, as well heri borough-lands as others, in fuch f they fhall think neceffary, for the m and amending of highways, bridges

gries, and other purposes of this act, not eding twenty fhillings Scots for each anded pounds Scots valued rent, in one , to be levied by the refpective cols of fupply; and the said affeffment te laid on heritors in boroughs, fhall in the proportion that the land-tax of feveral boroughs bears to the landof the refpective counties; and the oners thall give an account of the cal thereof to the heritors, at the Michaelmas head-court.

The commillioners, or any five of fhall be impowered to call for an unt of all deftinations and mortificaas to highways, caufeways, ferries, or ges, and to oblige the intromitters rewith, who have not applied the to these purposes, to make payment peof to fuch perfons as the commiffionall appoint, in order that the fame e applied to the purposes for which were destined; and all tolls or cuwhich by any ftatute, deed, or ufe, been payable at bridges or caufefor repairing the fame, fhall be emyed for that purpofe, and not otherwife. 27. Every commiflioner refiding in the edive counties, who shall not attend al meeting on the first Tuesday April, fhall, for fuch neglect, forfeit Sterling; and for making the fame al, the clerk of the meeting fhall up a lift of all fuch as are abfent the meeting, and lay the fame bethe judge or judges of jufticiary in eat circuit; who, unless a fufficient is made, fhall grant warrant upon it, for levying the penalties for abalong with the land-tax, and by fame methods of compulfion; and warrant, or an extract thereof under hand of the clerk, fhall be delivered the collector of the land-tax; who be held to account to the commiffor the fums therein contained; the clerk fhall also lay before the ts, at the circuit, a full ftate of the tes due to the roads, and the quanwork performed in the preceding by each parifh; and if it fhall therepear, that any parish has not been d out or employed in the ftatute, and that the value of their work et been allocated on that account, e commithioners, or by the fheriffe, to fome other parifh, then the or judges fhall grant fuch order and t for levying and difpofing of the of the work of fuch negligent pa

rifh, as the commiflioners or the sheriffdepute might have done, in manner forefaid; and if the clerk of the commillioners fhall refufe or neglect to lay the faid' lifts, or ftate, before the judges at the circuit, he fhall forfeit 5 1. for each refufal or neglect; which fums fhall be fort out of his falary, or sued for and levied like any of the other penalties in this act.

28. In cafe any dispute fhall arife concerning the extent of a ploughgate, or of the land or carriages that are to be rated as a ploughgate, or concerning the perfons chargeable, or concerning their rates of fervice or compofition, or concerning the method of working or payment upon this act, the fame may be determined fummarily, by any two juftices of the peace; and any perfons aggrieved by any order of the juftices or commiffioners, may, at any time within fix months, appeal to the quarter-feffions, previously finding security to pay full costs to the refpondents in cafe the order or fentence fhall be affirmed; and the order of fuch quarter-feflions thereon fhall be final, in all cafes, except in the cafes of fettling the order and priority of making and repairing roads, or in the cafe of altering or ftraightening roads, or in the cafe of exchanging pieces of ground for the fake of fuch altering or ftraightening: and all penalties, or compofitions, or fums to be impofed, raifed, or levied, by virtue of this act, where fpecial directions are not herein before given, as to the methods of fuing for and recovering the fame, may be recovered, together with the cofts, fummarily, either by an action before the judge-ordinary, or by warrant under the hands of any two of the com miflioners, by diftrefs and fale of the readiest goods and effects of the perfon liable, rendering to him the overplus, if any be; and all fuch fums, compofitions, fines, and penalties, fhall be applied for the purposes of this act, and not otherwife.

29. No perfon fhall be profecuted or punifhed for any offence against this act after the elapfe of a year after the offence.

The author fubjoins obfervations on fome of the claufes of his plan; and the pamphlet concludes with an abstract of four British acts, whereof the extenfionto Scotland, he fays, may, if thought doubtful, be declared by a claufe for that effect, viz. 7° Geo. II. cap. 9. § 1.-4.; 26° Geo. II. cap. 28.; 26° Geo. II. cap. 30. $ 1.7. & 11.-23.; and 27° Geo, II. cap. 16. § 7.

SIR,

London, Dec. 31. 1763. Have wondered, that fince the figning of the definitive treaty, little attention has been paid to the caufe of the Canada bills, the payment of which are so faith fully promifed in that treaty. [xxv. 141.] The affair is of much greater confequence than is generally conceived; and as but few know much of thefe Canada bills, your readers will not be displeased with an explanation of what they are.

Canada in the poffeffion of the French, was undoubtedly an annual loss to the government, although the trade of that country was very profitable to individuals, and to the kingdom in general.

The method the French government took to pay to the fubjects of Canada the balance due to them, was by giving them either bills of exchange on the royal trea fury in Old France, or what they call or donnances, of which the following is the form.

20 Sols.-COLONIES 1757.
Dépenfe générales.

No 44195

Il fera tenu compte par le Roi, au mois d'Odobre prochain, de la fomme de vingt fols, valeur en la foumission du Treforier, reftes, au bureau du controle.

A Quebec, le premier Juin, 1757.

BIGOT.

Thefe bills were given from 1000 livres to feven pence halfpenny, and were preferred by the inhabitants to current coin, and anfwered all the purposes. In the month of October of every year, every one was at liberty to bring thefe ordonnances to the intendant's office, and had right to demand bills of exchange on Old France in payment. This right gave the paper-currency even a preference over ready cath, for the government would not take cafh for bills of exchange.

Although the inhabitants might have brought all their ordonnances to the year 1759 for payment, yet being as current and more useful than cafh, confiderable quantities always remained in the country, and, as a proof, I have at this time in my hands fone of these ordonnances of the year 1729.

In the year 1759, the intendant and others concerned in the government of Canada, flued out very confiderable quantities of bills ofexchange, which they pretend was for the ufe of the government: but as the French court charge them with mal-administration, this point is in difHowever, the poor Canadians,

putę.

who knew that Bigot, who figner bills, had full powers from the c France fo to do, took them as ufua in general have paid the full va them. It is generally thought, Cadet, and others, have greatly c the French government; and it is ble it is fo, as by the late senten nounced at Paris, they are condem be banished, and are inulated ten n of livres and upwards. [xxv. 682.]

It is an acknowledged fact, th trade of Canada cannot subsist unles bills are paid. The war with the I renders them abfolutely incapable king returns for the goods they ar ly abliged to import from England unless they have money, it will be fible for them to carry on the trad that colony, which, with proper would be of infinite fervice to E from the immenfe quantities of manufactures that it might consum become a burthen if the payment bills are neglected.

The French court may plead they are not yet in a fituation them; and very likely are not: them fix a time for their paymen let them bear an intereft from a fixed time; then they will be neg on the exchange of London, Par Amfterdam; and the propietors may obtain credit on them, or fell the right at a moderate lofs. At prefer are of no fixed value; and although orders for a large cargo of wool fpring, and a depolit of 300,000 l. c for my fecurity, I dare not ven fend any thing.

It is faid there is upwards of t lions and a half Sterling of this pap paid. Yours, c.

SIR,

MER

London, F

ing general, was very naturally folwed by defpair. It is faid, that the poof the late commander in chief was, depile the fe people. But thefe defpicalatans have proved themfelves more -lighted than his Excellency: for ey have difcovered his deteftable scheme ertirpation, and have taken refolute, dy, and patriotic measures to prevent die.

Let no perfon imagine that I go too at lengths, in afferting this fcheme of pation to have been really propofed he late commander in chief of Amerifor one of the ableft, beft, and most ceptionable of the prefent miniftry, been heard to declare, that he had a good opinion of this gentleman's abiin general; but that he always ght his plan of extirpating the Indians, king to humanity, impracticable, and olitic.

prefent the Indians fight for their veexiftence, in a land to which nature them the best right, that of the first on. But whether we would not be tfufferers by their extirpation, grantit were poffible, is a problem not very tful. As a commercial nation, we uld certainly fuffer: no people pay fo h for British manufactures as they do; returns for our coarfe woollens, linens, trifing baubles, are more beneficial our trade than their valuable furs. that we are likely to become entire of that part of the world, we fhould any advantages by making them friends. By making them our ene-, we can reap none; nay, on the cony, we must fuftain numberless calami

SIR, Jan. 19. 1764. Mang the numerous writers that uncertake to influence the judgment of publir, with refpect to the measures government, I cannot find any that to have treated this point in what s to me the principal view in which people in general ought to confider it. truth, the political writings are fo ftuffith fcandal, falfehood, and malicious nations, on both fides, that it plainly an, the authors are influenced by immotives. Ambition, envy, love of revenge, or probably pay, feem to dited almost every thing that comes either fide.

When Mr P. was at the helm of affairs, fil was published to ridicule and flanCL.XXVI,

der every step he took. But as he was the minifter of the people's choice, popularity on one hand, and fuccefs in his undertakings on the other, bore him up above the reach of his adverfary.

After the E. of B. took the reins of government, the North Briton appeared, in the fame fpirit of envy, malice, and fedition as the Teft; but with much more boldness and effect. The E. was unpo. pular at firft; his partiality made him more fo; and the fcandal and defamation of an incenfed people made his refiguation abfolutely neceffary.

Since that time the minds of the people are ftill daily poifoned with the grofleft falfehoods, and every other method calculated to make them uneafy, unthankful to Providence for the mercies they enjoy, and ripe for fedition.

In each of thefe periods the moving caufe was probably the fame: In plain English, the artifice of ambitious men ont of place, raising difcontent in order to force themselves into the direction of affairs, and thereby gratify their own pride, vanity, and covetoufnefs, and the like vi cious difpofitions in their friends and dependents,

But how long fhall we be fuch fools as to be the tools of every party and fet of men in their turn? How long thall we be fooled with the ftale pretences of Patriotilim, Liberty, and the like baits, thrown out by knaves to catch fools? If we will be guided by reafon, and the word of God, our duty is very plain, and that will in fallibly lead us to peace and happiness: and this duty lies in the following parti culars.

As private fubjects, we have no right to cenfure the conduct of our superiors. "The powers that be, are ordained by God;" we ought therefore to reverence authority, where-ever placed, as the ordinance of God. This will lead us to obedience, and honouring them for their office fake, without any regard to their private characters. And this relpect and fubmiffion on our fide, will enable them to direct affairs eafily; and the governed will reap the advantage, and find that they are "God's minifters to them for good." On the other hand, faucy cenfu ring their conduct will be our fin, and bring on its own punithment. Evil-speaking and fcandal is always finful; but "the fpeaking evil of dignitv," is a very aggravated crime. Speaking evil and delighte ing to bear and read flanders of fuperiors, E

will