Page:American Historical Review, Volume 12.djvu/41

 The Ojfice of Intcndant in Nciv France 31 first of the intendants had devoted himself so zealously to this work, and had clamored so persistently for more settlers, that Col- bert found it necessary to remind him that it was not the royal de- sign to depopulate France in order to people Canada.' The wish of the king was that the colony should be made to grow from within by the application of artificial stimulants; when it did not respond, the intendant was forced to bear the blame. On one occasion the king reminded Duchesneau that, if he failed in this particular, he might regard himself as having failed in the principal object for which he had been sent to the colony. - The working of the seigniorial system of land tenure was another matter committed to the special police care of the intendant. From 1666 to 1676 all grants of seigniories had been made by the intendant alone. On a few occasions, while Talon was absent in France, the governor had made provisional grants, but these were promptly rati- fied by the intendant on his return to the colony. In 1676, however, a change was made by a royal edict which provided that for the future all grants of seigniories should be made by the governor and intendant jointly. These two were to consider together all applica- tions, and to decide whether the previous status of any incoming settler was such as to entitle him to the grant of a colonial fief, or whether he should, on the other hand, be referred to some colonial seignior for a small en ccnslvc grant.^ Nevertheless, the relations of the seigniorial proprietors to the crown continued wholly within the special jurisdiction of the intendant. He was supposed to see that the seigniors paid their quint ^ into the royal treasury at Quebec when it became due, and that they respected the various reservations which had been inserted in their title-deeds.' He was entrusted with the enforcement of the various edicts which compelled the seigniors to grant lands to incoming settlers at the usual rates without exacting a bonus for favorable locations," which ordered them to build seigniorial mills on pain of forfeiting for all future 1 Colbert to Talon, February 20, 1668, 161V. ^ King (unsigned) to Duchesneau, Tune 2. 1680, Correspondance Generale, V. 197. ^ Edits et Ordonnances, I. 89-90. When the two officials disagreed, the ques- tion was to be referred to the king. Ibid., 572-574. the occasion of any change in ownership. It was the custom in Xew France to allow seigniors a rebate of one-third. See F. J. Cugnet, Traite de la Loi des Fiefs (Quebec, 1775). "• 5 Such, for example, as the reservation of all oak timber suitable for use in the royal shipyards. On one occasion the intendant appointed officials to go about from seigniory to seigniory to see that this reservation was respected. See 6.dits et Ordonnances, III. 469. 'Especially the famous "Arrets of Marly", 1711, ibid., I. 324-325.
 * A mutation fine equal to one-fifth of the value of the seigniory, payable on