The question was stated and left open in Coakley v. Boston Maine Railroad, 159 Mass. 32, 35. In L'Homme v. Winchendon, 288 Mass. 291, 294, it was referred to but not discussed because not argued. It is firmly established in this Commonwealth that municipalities are not liable for acts or omissions of public officers in the performance of their duties except as and to the extent that liability is imposed by statute.
The word highway has frequently been employed in our decisions in such a manner as to indicate that it was understood to mean a roadway for persons and vehicles rather than structures erected for the exclusive use of railways. See, for example, Harding v. Medway, 10 Met. 465; Boston Albany Railroad v. Boston, 140 Mass. 87; Commonwealth v. Butler, 204 Mass. 11; Wood v. Concord, 268 Mass. 185, 188; L'Homme v. Winchendon, 288 Mass. 291. We are aware that a few instances can be found in which railways have been referred to as highways or as equivalent to highways.
In Hammond v. County Commissioners of Worcester, 154 Mass. 509, 511, it was said: "If the public, or any part of it, are injuriously affected by erroneous action . . . in laying out or discontinuing a way, their remedy must be sought through the Attorney General." L'Homme v. Winchendon, 288 Mass. 291, 293. Wine v. Commonwealth, 301 Mass. 451, 458.
It is not necessary to determine whether there may be a remedy by certiorari against the licensing authorities of Salisbury respecting the estimates, or to define the extent of such remedy if it exists. See Farmington River Water Power Co. v. County Commissioners, 112 Mass. 206, 212; Westport v. County Commissioners, 246 Mass. 556, 562; Davis v. County Commissioners, 153 Mass. 218; Hammond v. County Commissioners, 154 Mass. 509; L'Homme v. Winchendon, 288 Mass. 291, 293; Rudnick v. Murphy, 213 Mass. 470, 472; Horton v. Attorney General, 269 Mass. 503, 508-509. In any event, it is not a bar to the present proceeding, designed to enforce performance by the respondents of the statutory duty imposed on them.