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the bishop, who knew that his views were those of the King. The result
of the difficulties that followed was the dismissal of the governor,
who died soon afterwards, but not until he had confessed his error, and
made his peace with the haughty bishop whom he had dared to oppose.

The administration of local affairs throughout the province was
exclusively under the control of the King's officers at Quebec. The
ordinances of the intendant and of the council were the law. The
country was eventually subdivided into the following divisions for
purposes of government, settlement, and justice: 1. Districts. 2.
Seigniories. 3. Parishes. The districts were simply established for
judicial and legal purposes, and each of them bore the name of the
principal town within its limits--viz., Quebec, also called the
_Prevote de Quebec_, Montreal, and Three Rivers. In each of these
districts there was a judge, appointed by the king, to adjudicate on
all civil and criminal matters. An appeal was allowed in the most
trivial cases to the {165} supreme or superior council, which also
exercised original jurisdiction. The customary law of Paris, which is
based on the civil law of Rome, was the fundamental law of Canada, and
still governs the civil rights of the people.

The greater part of Canada was divided into large estates or
seigniories, with the view of creating a colonial _noblesse_, and of
stimulating settlement in a wilderness. It was not necessary to be of
noble birth to be a Canadian seigneur. Any trader with a few louis
d'or and influence could obtain a patent for a Canadian lordship. The
seignior on his accession to his estate was required to pay homage to
the King, or to his feudal superior in case the lands were granted by
another than the King. The seignior received his land gratuitously
from the crown, and granted them to his vassals, who were generally
known as _habitants_, or cultivators of the soil, on condition of their
making small annual payments in money or produce known as _cens et
rente_. The _habitant_ was obliged to grind his corn at the seignior's
mill (_moulin banal_), bake his bread in the seignior's oven, give his
lord a tithe of the fish caught in his waters, and comply with other
conditions at no time onerous or strictly enforced in the days of the
French regime. This system had some advantages in a new country like
Canada, where the government managed everything, and colonisation was
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