HIGH TREASON. See TREASON.
HIGHWAY,-in English law, is the place over which a right is enjoyed by the public, of walking, driving, or riding. It is often called the queen's highway; not because the queen has any greater or better right than any of the public, but to denote the impartiality and equality with which all the subjects enjoy the right of way without distinction. Highways are distinguished into several lands. 1. A footway, where the public have no right except to walk on foot; 2. A foot and horse way, where the public have the right of walking or riding on horseback; 3. A pack, and drift way—a way used for driving cattle and pack-ho•ses; 4. A foot, horse, and cart way, where the public can walk or ride, or use vehicles of all ordinary descriptions. Navigable rivers are also called highways, but this is rather in a figurative sense. 'Where the right of way belongs not to the public generally, but to the owner of one or two houses and their tenants, this is called a private way, and is classed among easements.
It has often been disputed, and cannot be said to be yet settled, whether a highway must be a thoroughfare—in other words, whether a road which does not lead to any public place can be a highway. The preponderance of authority seems: rather to be in favor of the proposition, that it is essential that the highway be a thor oughfare. The mode in which a road is created is by dedication, or by grant of the owner, or by the necessity of things or net of parliament., Thus if a person allow the public for four or five years to pass through his fields without stopping them, this will be evidence from which a jury may infer that the owner meant to make a present to the public of the right of way, and he cannot afterwards exclude the public, for the maxim holds, "once a highway, always a highway." The mode in a grant of the way is proved, is generally by showing that the public have, from time immemorial, or for a few years without interruption, anij with the owner's consent, enjoyed the right of way; for it' that is proved, then the law presumes that the right was given by some lost grant. There are also rights of way limited to a particular purpose, which may be proved by immemorial custom, as a way for the inhabitants of a village to or from the parish church. One of the incidents of a highway is, that if it is foundrous, or out of repair,
the passenger is entitled to go over the adjacent land, whoever may be the owner of it, so as to avoid the foundrous part of the road. Another incident of the use of a high way is, that if any obstruction is placed upon it, whether in the nature of a,gate, or a wall, or even if a house be built too near so as to encroach on the highway, any passenger has a right to abate the nuisance—i.e., he may himself, without any ceremony, remove the obstruction or demolish•the wall, but he must take care not to do more damage than is necessary for the purpose of clearing the road, otherwise he will subject himself to action. Another incident of the use of a highway is, that the public have au absolute right to use every part of it, and to pass to and fro in all directions. Of course, each must comply with certain well-known rules, such as that of giving and taking the road, otherwise, if an accident were to occur, he would be liable for the negligence, if it arose "from a neglect of such rules, for these constitute, as it were, the law of the road:. It results from this principle, that no person, or body of persons, is entitled to convert part of the highway into any purpose, however useful, other than a highway. Thns in London, and other parts of the country, some vestries and surveyors presumed to give leave to a contractor to lay down a tramway in the streets, which was alleged to be a great public improvement; nevertheless, as it practically resulted in giving a monopoly to some persons, and. moreover was an obstruction to others, this was held to he a nui sance, and the parties who took part in it were indicted for the obstruction. Awl on the same principle; it: has been held an for an electric telegraph com pany to place their telegraph posts on the strips of land at the side of the road; for though it might be thought for the benefit of the public, instead of the reverse, yet as it practically obstructed the public in the free passage from every part of the highway to every other, it was held to be a nuisance. Nothing but an act of parliament can legalize such uses of a highway, and no person or body now existing has authority to restrict the free use of the queen's highway in such a manner.