f the
governor to wage war and of the intendant to levy taxes. But as an
expedition could not be equipped without money, the governor looked to
the intendant for funds, and the intendant might object that the plans
of the governor were unduly extravagant. Worse still, the commissions
under which both held office were often contradictory. More than three
thousand miles separated Quebec from Versailles, and for many months
governor and intendant quarrelled over issues which could only be
settled by an appeal to the king. Meanwhile each was a spy as well as
a check upon the other. In Canada this arrangement worked even more
harmfully than in France, where the king could make himself felt
without great loss of time.

{6}

Yet an able intendant could do much good. There are few finer episodes
in the history of local government than the work of Turgot as intendant
of the Limousin.[2] Canada also had her Talon, whose efforts had
transformed the colony during the seven years which preceded
Frontenac's arrival. The fatal weakness was scanty population. This
Talon saw with perfect clearness, and he clamoured for immigrants till
Colbert declared that he would not depopulate France to people Canada.
Talon and Frontenac came into personal contact only during a few weeks,
but the colony over which Frontenac ruled as governor had been created
largely by the intelligence and toil of Talon as intendant.[3]

While the provincial system of France gave Canada two chief personages,
a third came from the Church. In the annals of New France there is no
more prominent figure than the bishop. Francois de Laval de
Montmorency had been in the colony since 1659. {7} His place in
history is due in large part to his strong, intense personality, but
this must not be permitted to obscure the importance of his office.
His duties were to create educational institutions, to shape
ecclesiastical policy, and to represent the Church in all its dealings
with the government.

Many of the problems which confronted Laval had their origin in special
and rather singular circumstances. Few, if any, priests had as yet
been established in fixed parishes--each with its church and
_presbytere_. Under ordinary conditions parishes would have been
established at once, but in Canada the conditions were far from
ordinary. The Canadian Church sprang from a mission. Its first
ministers were members of religious orders who had taken the conversion
of the