ditches, and direct a supervisor or supervisors to clear and improve
the same, in the same manner,
and on the same terms, as other roads, and upon completing the same,
it shall be deemed a public
road, and be kept in repair as all other public roads in said county
are by this law directed; provided,
that notice be set up in writing, by advertisement, at least three weeks,
in the most public
places in such hundred or hundreds, by some one inhabitant or inhabitants
thereof, (previous to
their offering a petition or petitioners,) declaring their intention
to apply to the justices of the levy
court for the purposes aforesaid.
VIII. AND BE IT ENACTED, That whenever any
old road shall be altered in its breadth or direction
as aforesaid, the justices aforesaid may agree with the persons over whose
land such road or
roads may pass for the amount of damages sustained, but if no agreement
be made they shall issue
their warrant, directed to the sheriff of the said county, commanding
him to summon and return a
jury of twelve good and lawful men of the said county, not interested or
related to the party or parties,
to be and appear before one of the said justices on the premises, at a
certain day in the said
warrant to be expressed, which jury, on their oath or affirmation, shall
inquire who is or are the
owner or owners of the land over which any road or roads so widened or
laid out shall pass, and
what damages such owner or owners will actually suffer from the passage
of such road or roads over
the said land, the said jury taking into consideration all conveniencies
and inconveniencies, advantages
and disadvantages, if any, arising thereby or therefrom, by the improvement
of said road, and
the sheriff shall return the inquisition of the jury aforesaid, under
his hand and seal, to the next levy
court, and the amount of damages therein expressed, if any, shall be paid
by order of the said
court out of the monies to be levied as aforesaid, but no road shall be
made to run through any building,
enclosed yard, garden, meadow or orchard, without the consent of the owner,
nor shall any
field in which grain, hemp, flax, tobacco, or other cultivated articles,
are growing, be laid open until
after the season for collecting and securing the crop growing in such field.
IX. AND BE IT ENACTED, That the warrants shall
be made out for the supervisors by the clerk
of the said county, and by him delivered to the sheriff of the county
within fifteen days after they
shall be ordered by the said court, under the penalty of fifteen dollars
for each warrant so ordered
and not delivered by the clerk, and the like penalty of fifteen dollars
for each warrant received by
the sheriff, and not delivered by him within ten days to the supervisor,
to be recovered before a
single magistrate, as in the case of small debts out of court, and applied
towards clearing and amending
the public roads.
X. AND BE IT ENACTED, That if any of the said
supervisors shall not sufficiently clear and amend
the said public roads within hi district, within a reasonable time after
it shall be out of repair, or
shall not streighten the said public roads, as marked and bounded by the
commissioners, or shall suffer
any fallen trees, or other obstruction, to remain in or across any of the
said public roads, whereby
any cart or other carriage may be obstructed for two days together, he
having notice thereof, or
shall neglect to fall all dead trees on either side of the said public
roads, whose limbs hang over, and
may, by their falling, injure travellers, or lop or cut off all limbs or
branches of trees hanging or
projecting over the road within fifteen feet above the surface thereof,
or shall suffer any of the
bridges or causeways to be out of good repair, or otherwise fail to perform
the duties of a supervisor,
he shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding twelve dollars for every offence,
to be recovered and applied
as aforesaid.
XI. AND BE IT ENACTED, That any of the justices
of the peace of the said county, who upon
his own view, or on the information, oath or affirmation, of one or more
credible witnesses, shall
discover or be satisfied that any bridge, road or causeway, is out
of repair from neglect of duty of
the supervisor within whose limits the same shall be, except in time of
wheat harvest, shall be authorised
to issue his warrant, in the name of the state, against such supervisor,
directed to the constable
of the hundred, and returnable before himself, or some other justice of
the peace for said
county, who shall proceed to give judgment according to the merits of the
case, and if judgment be
rendered against him for any fine or forfeiture not exceeding twelve dollars,
and if he shall not pay
the same, the said justice of the peace may thereupon issue process of
execution for the recovery
thereof, and the same shall be accounted for and paid to the order
of the levy court of said county,
and applied as aforesaid; provided nevertheless, that nothing herein contained
shall prevent any of
the said supervisors offending against the provisions of this act from
being presented by the grand
jury for any neglect of duty, not before punished by any, one of the
justices of the peace as
aforesaid. |
CHAP.
LVIII.
And agree for
damages, &c.
Warrants to be
made out by
the clerk, &c.
Penalty on supervisors
for
neglect, &c.
Justice may issue
warrant in
certain cases,
&c. |