Page:Remarks on the Present System of Road Making (1823).djvu/22

 Whoever has attentively considered the weakness and inadequacy of the present road laws, to protect the great interest at stake, must be aware of the urgent necessity for some new legislative measures, more adapted to the present state of the country. The roads are, perhaps, the most important branch of our domestic economy. The revenue collected for their support equals that of the Post-office; and any failure in executing the work, operates as a severe check upon our commerce, manufactures, and agriculture. Yet a public service of such vital importance, continues to be regulated solely by the narrow policy and limited views of the first Turnpike Act, (which were, in fact, mere experiments in legislation,) while this immense revenue is abandoned to the discretion or the cupidity of the lower orders of society.

The benefit which I have aspired to render the country, is of a twofold nature; and my labours have been as constantly directed towards the introduction of a wise and well-regulated system of management for the roads, as towards their mechanical construction. I have