At what periods do you consider it injurious to water the road for laying the dust?—Before May and after August.
Have you not a practice of sometimes watering in winter, when there is no dust?—After the most careful sifting of the gravel, a small quantity of loamy dirt will unavoidably still adhere to the stones, and this loam, together with a glutinous matter which accumulates in the summer from the dung and urine of the cattle (which accumulation the summer watering has a tendency to increase) occasions the wheels to stick to the materials, in certain states of the road, in spring and autumn, when it is between wet and dry, particularly in heavy foggy weather, and after a frost; by which sticking of the wheels, the Whitechapel road is often, in a short time, dreadfully torn and loosened up; and it is for remedying this evil, that I have, for more than eight years past, occasionally watered the road in winter. As soon as the sticking and tearing up of the materials is observed to have commenced, several water-carts are employed upon these parts of the road, to wet the loamy and glutinous matters so much, that they will no longer adhere to the tire of the wheels, and to allow the wheels and feet of the horses to force down and again fasten the gravel stones; the traffic, in the course of four to twenty-four hours after watering, forms such a sludge on the surface, as can be easily raked off by wooden scrapers, which is performed as quickly as possible; after which the road is hard and smooth, the advantages of this practice of occasional winter watering have been great; and it might, I am of opinion, be adopted with like advantages on the other entrances into London, or wherever else the traffic is great, and the gravel stones are at times observed to be torn up by the sticking of the wheels.
In what state of the road are you in the habit of laying on fresh materials?—I prefer laying on materials immediately after the road has had a scraping, in consequence of there being upon the surface of the road a small quantity of dirty matter and broken gravel, which then form a sort of cement for the gravel to fix in.
You consider it advantageous to lay on the materials when the road is wet?—I do, because the gravel adheres closer.
Considering the very great traffic upon the Whitechapel road, is it your opinion that it would be advantageous to pave any part of that road?—I think it would be desirable to pave it, within some feet of the footpath more particularly.
What breadth from the sides of that road would you consider it desirable to have paved?—About eleven or twelve feet from the footpath.
You would consider it a desirable plan to pave the sides of that road in preference to the centre?—Certainly.
For what reasons?—If the centre was paved, the light carriages would be very much annoyed; when the gravel road was good on the sides, the heavy carriages would go there, and the light carriages would be driven on the stones from the sides again; if the centre was paved the carters would be obliged to walk on that road to manage their horses, and would be considerably annoyed by carriages, horsemen, &c. passing: but if the sides of that road were paved, the carters would be enabled to walk on the footpath and to manage their horses without annoyance.
What is the shape of road which, from your experience, you would give the preference to?—I would have the road barrelled, and made so as that it would convey off the water in the severe weather in winter, when the roads are generally bad.
Which do you give the preference to, a road with a flat surface, or one that gradually declines from the centre?—I think a road which gradually declines from the centre is by far the most preferable, decidedly so.