to strengthen his own position.

STEP IV

_The Feudal System under William:_ (Note the innovations of William.)

1. The land belonged solely to the king; it was not the Normans as a
tribe, but William personally, who conquered England.

2. The estates of the nobles were divided, either deliberately or
because the land was conquered piecemeal and parcelled out as it was
conquered. (For example, Odo had 473 manors in 17 counties.)

3. The vassals swore direct allegiance to the king.

4. The Witan was displaced by the Great Council, the members of which
were the king's vassals; therefore with him, not against him.

5. The king's use of shire-reeves, personal dependants, who led the
military levy of the counties and collected the king's taxes.

6. What were the chief taxes? From them came much political trouble in
later times by attempts to rectify abuses in connection with them.

7. The teacher may describe the ceremony of the feudal oath.

The important points of each step should be written on the black-board
as they are described or developed.

(The decay of the Feudal System in England may be the topic of another
lesson.)

SEIGNIORIAL TENURE

The aim of the lesson is to give the pupils a knowledge of the method of
land tenure introduced into Canada by the French; to enable them to
trace the effects of this system upon the progress of the people and the
development of the country; and to increase their interest in the
present system of tenure.

METHOD

In connection with sections 3 and 4 the description of the Feudal System
would show how the land was held in France; first by the king, under him
by the greater nobles, then by the lesser nobles and the gentry, then by
the large farmers who sublet it in small farms or hired men to work it.
Every one who held land had to do something for his lord. When this
description is complete, let the pupils apply it to Canada, the teacher
supplying the names of the corresponding classes in Canada. Then the
pupils may be asked to consider what return each holder would make for
his land; this leads to a statement of the conditions of tenure in
Canada. Then the evils connected with this system may be presented as
another problem; for example, how would the actual workers be
discouraged in making improvements that they would get no credit for? In
connection with section 5, the pupils can contrast the method of holding
land that they are familiar with, that is, by c