The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-03-21
THE Road Law.


islature in 1873:
An Act to amend Chapter xiv of Title
x, Part I, Of the General STATUTES, re.
I lsting to the repairs of Highways and
Bridges.
SECTION l. Be It enacted by the Senate
and House OF Representatives OF the State
of South Carolina, now met aud sitting
in General Assembly, and by the author
ity of the same, That Chapter XIV of
Title xI, Part I, of the General Statutes
be, and the same IS hereby, repealed, and
the following substituted IS such Chap
ter:
SEC. 2. That the County Commission
ers of the several Counties of this State
shall divide their respective Counties into
highway districts, each district to contain
not less than ten miles of public high.
WAYS, nor more than thirty miles, to be
convenient for repairing highways, and
from time to time toialter the same.
SEC. 8. That for tie purpose Of keeping
in repair highways, the County Commis-
sioners of each County shall divide the
persons liable to road duty in each high
nav district into convenient companies,
and appoint an oyerseer OF roads in each
highway district; whose duty it shall be
\ To have the persons before namei warned
out to work. the said roads whenever he
{ may deem it necessary to repair the same.
Z He shall determine the number of days
Tor working at each warning: .Procided,
That not more than six days are required
Z in year. When the Commissioners hav-
ipgoversight of such sections gives orders
4 to the oyerseer to work the road, and ne
neglects to, do the same, he shall be
deemed guilty Of o misdemeanor, apd,
npon conviction thereof in o Trial JUS
tice's Court, shall be fined in sum not
less than FIVE nor more than ten dollars.
SEC. 4 ANY person liable to r,ad duty,
who shall have been duly warned two
days before the day fixed in lis notice
for such working stating the hour and
place of working, shall be subject to the
direction Of the oyerseer in charge. Ii
any person of the legal age refuse to
work upon the highways and roads (hay-
ing no justifable excnse) according to
the direction of the overseer, he shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, aud,
upon conviction thereof in Trial JUS
tice's Court, shall be fined in sum not
less than Eve dollars, nor more than ten
dollars, or be imprisoned in the County
Jail for a period of not less than five nor
s more than twenty days.
- Sec. 5. That on any extraordinary occa-
sion, when any highway shall be sudden
" obstructed By storm or otherwise, so as
to require immediate labor to remove
such obstruction, it shall be the duty of
the oyerseer in whose district such OBJ
struction occurs to proceed forthwith to
have such obstruction removed, and for
this purpose shall summon to his aid a
sufficient number of Yorkmen to open
and repair such highway. If any person
/ shall, in such case, perform more days
labor than is required by law for the
year, he shall be paid for any such over
plus, at the rate Of one dollar per day,
BY the County Commissioners, upon the
Certificate of the oyerseer showing that
such oyerplus of labor was performed.
If on any such extraordinary occasion
the oYerseer shall, for the space of day
after application made to him for such
purpose by any citizen residing in his
district, neglect to call ont sufficient
number of persons TO speedily open and
repair such highway. hs shall forfeit and
pay to the County Commissioners of his
County, to be expended in the repair of
highways, when and where necessary in
his district, the SUN of fifteen dollars,
unless the overseer shall show sufficient
reason for such neglect, the said fifteen
dollars to be collected by an action of
debt, in the name of such County Com
missioners, as plaintiffs, before any Trial
Justices in said County. II on any such
extraordinary occasion any person liable
to work on highways, after being sum-
moned for the purpose of removing such
obstruction by the order of the oyerseer,
shall neglect to turn out and assist in
opening and repairing such highway, he
SHALL be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor,
and, upon conviction thereof in any Trial
Justices Court shall be fined three dol
lars per day, said fine to be collected and
expended as .hereinbefore provided in
the matter of forfeiture8 of oYerseers.
SEC. s. If any perscn receive bodily
injury or damage in his person or proper
ty through a defect in the repair of
highway, causeway or bridge, he may.
recover, in an action against the County,
the amount of damages fixed by the find
ing of n jury. If such defect in sny road,
c;suseway or bridge existed before such
injury OF, damage occurred, such damages
shall not be recovered by the person so
injured if his load exceeded the ordinary
weight of the County where such injury
crdamage occurred.
Sec. z. If, before the commencement
of an action provided for in the foregoing
Section, the County Commissioners ten
der to the plaintiff the amount which he
might be entitled TO recover, together
with ali legal costs, and the plaintiff re-
fuse to accept the same, and does not re-
cover upon subsequent trial sum larger
than the amount so rendered, the defen-
dants shall recover costs and the plaintiff
be entitled to the results of no verdict.
II the Commissioners of any County neg
lect to have repaired any of the highways
ard bridges which by law are required to
be kept in repair, they shall be deemed
guilty of q misdemeanor, and, upon con-
Yictioi thereof, shall be find in sum not
less than one hundred nor more than five
hundred dollars, in the discretion of the
Court. The County Commissioners shall
authorize the overseer of any district to
allow o man working one day, and also
furnishing horse, plow or cart, two days
labor; and one working himself one day
and furnishing s wagon and two horses,
mules OK oxen, three days labor.
SEC. s. All able-bodied male persons
between the ages of eighteen and forty
FIVE years shall be liable annually to work
on the public highways and roads not
less than three nor more than six days,
under the direction of the o7erseer of the
district in which they may reside. In
warning men to work upon the public
roads, the oyerseer shall make out a list
for the warner, requiring him to give
notice to each person the kind of tool he
shsll use in working upon the highways
and roads.