A Public Meeting was held at Bothwell on the 10th November, 1849, pursuant to advertisement, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of the local Road Act passed for the district. On the motion of Mr Barr, seconded by Mr Fisher, Mr Frederick Synnot was called to the chair. The chairman, after stating the object for which the meeting was convened, entered into an explanation of circumstances which had rendered it expedient for the district to adopt this Act, and the advantages that were likely to result from it. He considered it necessary to make these observations, as a report had been industriously circulated that the Act had been passed for the purpose of imposing a tax on the inhabitants, when, in fact, it was merely a law to regulate those subscriptions to which the majority of the inhabitants now saw clearly enough how much it would be to their advantage to contribute by all paying a part in proportion to their property. As the duties of the road committee were about to terminate, the chairman took that opportunity of tendering the acknowledgments of the committee to Captain King and Dr Teush for the very punctual and efficient manner in which they had performed the duties they had undertaken with regard to the road party. He had observed that it was mainly owing to the very excellent system of which Captain King had pursued with the party that so much labour had been performed, and it reflected great credit both on the Visiting Magistrate and the Superintendent that a sentenced gang should have been nearly nine months stationed in a populous neighbourhood without one single complaint having been made by the inhabitants of the misconduct of any of the men. A resolution authorising the following assessments was proposed and carried unanimously:- That the pasture lands of the district be assessed at the rate of one-eighth of a penny per acre. That the lands under crop be assessed at the rate of threepence per acre. That the house property of the township of Bothwell be assessed at the rate of threepence per pound sterling on the valued rental. The following gentlemen were elected Road Trustees:- Messrs Synnot, Russell, Barr, Axford, and Macdonald. The meeting was unanimously of opinion that the road at the main line should be carried through the estate of Woodlands to avoid the swamp at the Cross Marsh lane. Captain Clark addressed the meeting, and made some very just observations as to the injury the public sustained in consequence of persons diverting and in many cases closing up old and well-established roads. He instanced, as a case of peculiar hardship, that the public were now altogether shut out from the benefit of a legally authorised road which passed through Mr Kemp's property at the Cross Marsh, and in place of which the public got the swamp road now in use. The thanks of the meeting were then given to the Chairman, when the meeting broke up. The meeting, which was attended by more than 40 persons, all having property, which gave them votes, was characterised by the utmost unanimity and good feeling, every person present appealing to be fully sensible of the advantages the district would derive from the working of the Road Act to enable them to get good roads.