Page:Remarks on the Present System of Road Making (1823).djvu/141

 gravel of a very bad quality, it is mixed with an adhesive loam that cannot be separated from the gravel, except by the united power of water and friction; this operation cannot be effectually performed before laying it on the roads, but is done by the rain and the traffic, producing a stiff mud, which is not only in itself an impediment to travelling, but has the effect of keeping the roads loose; the form of the gravel is also unfavorable, being smooth round masses of flint, without any angles by which the parts might unite. On the other hand, London is placed in a situation peculiarly convenient for being supplied with materials from a distance, by water carriage. The materials that may be so procured are of the very best description, and, under the sanction of parliament, may be procured on very moderate terms. The Thames furnishes gravel of a very good quality and quite clean; by using this gravel, the navigation of the river will be improved; the several canals, the Surrey, the Grand Junction, Paddington, and river Lea navigation, present facilities for procuring clean flint of the best kind; the coast of Essex, Kent, and Sussex, can furnish a supply to any extent of beach pebbles, one of the best road materials in the kingdom. Granite chippings might be obtained occasionally from Cornwall, Guernsey and Scotland, as ballast; two pieces of road were made with these materials near London, without any mixture of land gravel, at Blackfriars Bridge and Westminster Bridge.

What are the impediments which, in your opinion, prevent the commissioners of the roads near London from availing themselves of those advantages?—The very small trusts into which the roads in the immediate vicinity of London are divided, is the principal cause; this renders it impossible for commissioners to enter upon the plan of procuring materials upon an extended scale, and they cannot be obtained with any regard to economy, except in quantity, with a view to a supply for the whole roads, proceeding from the stones of London to a certain distance. There are also some impediments arising from particular laws,