appointed by former acts. The commif fioners fhall appoint a prefes, convener, and clerk and they shall be impowered to adjourn themselves from time to time. 3. The commiffioners, at their firft meeting, shall divide the shire or stewartry into two or more diftricts, as they fee convenient. And if they cannot overtake this work at that meeting, they shall appoint proper persons to form a plan of the intended divifions, which plan shall be reported to the commiffioners at their next meeting, in order to be approved or altered by them. This being fettled, the commiffioners fhall appoint the heritors in these feveral districts, or any three of them, to meet on a certain day and place, to make lifts of the whole public roads within their refpe&ive districts, and to fettle the order of reparation, beginning with those that are the most frequented. The proceedings of these district meetings must be reported to the commiffioners at their next meeting; who are empowered to fettle the order of reparation, in cafe of variance among the heritors; and also to add any road that may have been omitted. And they fhall record a fcheme or plan of the whole whole roads in the fhire, thus enlisted, with their refolutions thereupon, to be seen in the clerk's hands gratis. But upon any just cause appearing in the course of administration, the commiffioners fhall be empowered to alter or vary this plan, provided it be at a meeting previously appointed for that purpose, and where three fifths at least of the commiffioners are prefent. 4. If the sheriff or stewart neglect to appoint the first meeting of the commiffioners, he fhall incur a penalty of L. 100, upon a fummary complaint to the court of feffion by any one heritor of the shire, with cofts of fuit; the one half of the penalty to the plaintiff, and the other half to be applied by the commiffioners for the purposes of this act. If the commissioners fail to meet at the day appointed by the fheriff or ftewart, or fail to divide the fhire or ftewartry into diftricts, within fix months of their firft meeting, the sheriff or ftewart depute, under the forefaid penalty, fhall be bound to do that work himself; and alfo to appoint the heritors in the feveral diftricts, or any three of them, to make lifts of the public roads as above mentioned, and to report their refolutions to him; and he is empowered to fettle the order of reparation, in case of variance among the heritors. If the heritors fail to meet, and to make a lift of the roads as aforefaid, this work fhall be performed by the sheriff or ftewart depute himfelf. And he shall be indemnified of whatever expences he is at in profecuting the faid work, out of the fums that are to be levied by authority of this act, in manner after mentioned, with an additional fum for his own trouble, to be named by the circuit judges. 5. No perfon fhall act as a commiffioner upon this ftatute, but who has an estate within the county of L. 200 Scots valuation, or is heir-prefumptive to fuch an eftate, or is named a commiffioner virtute officii, under the penalty of L. 20 Sterling toties quoties, to be prosecuted before any competent court, by a popular action, with cofts of fuit; the one half to the plaintiff, the other half to the purposes of this act. 6. Whereas the fum of 10 d. directed by the act 1669 to be impofed upon each I. 100 of valued rent, is infufficient for the purposes - purposes therein expreffed; and whereas the fix days ftatute-work for repairing the highways is in many respects inconvenient; therefore, inftead of the rod. and instead of the ftatute-work, the commiffioners, together with the heritors poffeffed of L. 200 Scots of valued rent, five, whether commiffioners or heritors, making a quorum, shall annually, upon the said last Tuesday of March, affefs each heritor in a fum not exceeding upon each L. 100 valued rent; the affeffiment impofed on the heritors to be levied by the collector of supply, along with the cefs, and by the fame legal remedies. The heritors are entitled to relieve themselves of the one half of the said affeffment, by laying the fame upon their tenants, in proportion to the rent they pay; an heritor being always confidered as a tenant of the land he has in his natural poffeffion. 7. With respect to boroughs of royalty, regality, and barony, and large trading villages, the commiffioners are empowered to levy from each houfeholder, a fum not exceeding 2 s. yearly, more or lefs in proportion to the affeffinent of the fhire, to be paid within forty days after notice given, under the penalty of double, befides expence of procefs. Provided, that any of these householders who have country-farms, by which they contribute to relieve their landlords as above mentioned, fhall be exempted from this part of the affeffment. 8. If the commiffioners and heritors neglect to affefs their fhire, or name fo fmall a fum as to be an elufory affeffment, infufficient to answer the purposes of this act, the court of jufticiary, or the circuitjudges, are in that cafe empowered and required to lay on the highest assessment that is made lawful by this act. In cafe of a total omiffion, the commiffioners and heritors who, by neglecting to convene without a good cause of abfence, have occafioned the said omiffion, fhall be fubjected each of them to a penalty of L. 20 Sterling. And to make thefe penalties effectual, the trustees for fisheries and manufactures are appointed to fue for the fame before the court of feffion, and to apply the fame, when recovered, to any useful purpose within the fhire, especially to the purposes of this act. And to preferve the faid fines entire for the public |