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county, and great inconvenience of the public: and reciting, that it is also expedient that the justices of the peace of any county, city, &c. at their general quarter sessions respectively, before any presentment shall have been made as aforesaid, as directed by the aforesaid Act, of the want of repair of such roads, should be enabled, without any such presentment, to contract and agree with certain persons hereinafter mentioned, for the repairing and amending of the same, and also for keeping the same in repair when so repaired and amended:-It is enacted, that it shall be lawful for the justices of the peace of any county, city, &c. at their general quarter sessions or great sessions respectively, to be holden in the week next after the clause of Easter, or the greater part of them then and there assembled, to appoint annually two or more justices acting in and for any division of justices in such county, city, &c. in or near which any such county bridge, or any bridge which is in part a county bridge, ramparts, banks, cops, or other works appertaining to the same, or any part or parts thereof, or the roads over the same, or so much of the roads at the ends thereof as by law is to be repaired at the expence of any county, city, &c. shall be situate, to superintend the same; and whenever it shall appear on their own inspection, to be necessary for the purpose of preventing the further decay and injury of the same, to order any immediate repairs or amendments to be done to the same or to any part thereof; but it shall be lawful for any two justices so to be appointed as aforesaid, by a written order (a), signed by their hands respectively, to order such immediate repairs to be done by such person as to them shall seem fit:-Provided that in no case the sum

to be expended by them in such repairs shall exceed the sum of £20:-And further that such appointments of such justices as aforesaid shall remain in force until one week after the following Easter Sessions respectively; And that in case of the death of, or removal of, or refusal to act by any such justice so appointed as aforesaid, the said court of general quarter sessions or great sessions may at any other of the four quarterly sessions, appoint any other justice to act for the remainder of the then current year, in the place of any such justice so dying, removing, or refusing to act as aforesaid.

By Section 2, The justices of the peace of any county, city, &c. at the general quarter sessions or great sessions, which shall next happen after such repairs so ordered to be made by such justices so appointed as aforesaid shall be completed, or the greater part of them then and there assembled, may order the payment of such sum or sums of money, not exceeding £10, as shall be sufficient to pay for such repairs, to be made out of the county rate, to such persons who shall have so repaired the same by such order of such justices as aforesaid, although no presentment shall have been made by any grand jury at the assize, great sessions, or general quarter sessions of the peace of any county, city, &c. in which such repairs shall have been done, of the want of such reparation as by the said Stat. 12 Geo. 2, was directed :-Provided nevertheless, that before such payment be ordered to be made as aforesaid, a certificate (a) be returned to such justices so assembled at such last-mentioned sessions, signed by two at the least of such justices so appointed as aforesaid, who shall have so ordered such repairs as

aforesaid, stating the nature of such repairs, and the defects, damage, or injuries which they had so ordered to be repaired, and their reason for so ordering such immediate repairs as aforesaid :-Provided also, that such justices so assembled as last aforesaid be satisfied by the parties concerned, that the charges made by them for such repairs are reasonable and just.

By Section 5, After July 1st, 1812, it shall be lawful for the justices of the peace of any county, city, &c. at their General Quarter Sessions respectively, or the greater part of them then and there assembled, if they shall think proper and convenient, to contract and agree with the commissioners or trustees of any turnpike road within the said county, &c. or with their surveyor or clerk, or with both their surveyor and clerk, or with the surveyor or surveyors of the highway of any parish, place, or tything within the said county, &c. respectively, or with any other persons, for the maintaining and keeping in repair roads over any county bridges, and of so much of the roads at the ending thereof as by law is to be repaired at the expence of any such county, &c. or any part of the same, for any term, not exceeding seven years nor less than one, although no presentment shall have been made, as directed by the said Stat. 12 Geo. 2, of the insufficiency, inconveniency, decay, or want of repair of the same ; subject, however, to all the rules, &c. required by the said Stat. 12 Geo. 2, in case where the same shall have been presented or directed by that Act.

And by Stat. 55 Geo. 3. c. 143. s. 5, Reciting, that it is expedient that the powers contained in Stat. 43 Geo. 3. c. 59, for authorizing the justices of the peace of any

at their General Quarter Sessions of the peace, to contract for maintaining and keeping in repair roads over county bridges, and so much of the roads at the ending thereof as by law is to be repaired at the expence of counties, although no presentment shall have been made of the want of repair, as directed by an Act passed in the twelfth year of his late Majesty King George the Second, intituled, "An Act for the more easy assessing, collecting, and levying of county rates," (12 Geo. 2. c. 29,) should be extended to the bridges as well as to the roads at the end thereof;-It is enacted, that it shall be lawful for the justices of the peace of any county, city, riding, division, town corporate, or liberty, at their General Quarter Sessions respectively, to contract and agree, or to authorize any other person or persons to contract and agree with any person or persons, for the maintaining and keeping in repair any county or hundred bridge, and the road over such county or hundred bridge, and so much of the road at the ends thereof as are by law liable to be repaired at the expence of any such county, hundred, city, riding, division, town corporate, or liberty, or any part of the same; and the said justices are hereby empowered to order such sum or sums of money as may be contracted for and agreed to be paid for the repairing, amending, and supporting such bridges, and the roads over the same, or the ends thereof, to be paid (in cases where the county is liable to the repair thereof) by the treasurer of the county out of the county rate, or (in cases where the hundred is liable to the repair of the same) by the bridge master (or other public officer charged with the repair of bridges) of the hundred by which such bridge is liable to be repaired, for any term, not exceeding seven years nor less than one, although no presentment of the insufficiency, made, and although no public notice shall have been given by the said justices, at their respective General or Quarter Session, of their intention to contract for the repair of such bridges, or the roads at the ends thereof, as respectively directed by the said Act of the twelfth year of his late Majesty King George the Second :-Provided nevertheless, that before any such contract shall be made, the said justices shall cause notices to be given in some public newspaper circulated in such county, city, riding, hundred, division, town corporate, or liberty, of their intention to contract.

II. The liability to repair public Bridges by Tenure or Prescription.

The onus of repairing any public bridge, which primá facie attaches upon the county, may be transferred to bodies politic, smaller districts, or individuals, by reason of prescription or the tenure of land, upon precisely the same principles as apply in this respect to highways in general. It is needless, therefore, to do more, in this place, than to refer to what has already been said upon that subject (a).

One provision of the Legislature, however, for the better amendment of bridges, which are repairable by prescription, by empowering the county to compound for undertaking the repair thereof, must here be mentioned.

By Stat. 3 Geo. 4. c. 126. s. 107, After reciting, that many bridges on turnpike roads are by prescription liable

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