State v. Scott

Marble; J.

By the terms of the statute any structure which is erected or continued upon or over any highway is deemed a public nuisance. The word “highway ” comprehends every public thoroughfare, whether road or sidewalk (Hall v. Manchester, 40 N. H. 410, 415), with its soil and all the space above it. State v. Kean, 69 N. H. 122; Woodsville Fire District v. Stahl, 80 N. H. 502, 504; Exeter v. Meras, 80 N. H. 132.

The object of the statute is the preservation of the public right. State v. Kean, supra. It forbids incumbrances and encroachments, but does not attempt to regulate viatic or…