The Great Intendant | Page 3

intendant was needed to infuse new blood
into the veins of the feeble colony on the St Lawrence, Colbert, always
a good judge of men, thought immediately of Jean Talon and
recommended to the king his appointment as intendant of New France.

Talon's commission is dated March 23, 1665.
The minister drafted for the intendant's guidance a long letter of
instructions. It dealt with the mutual relations of Church and State, and
set forth the Gallican principles of the day; it discussed the question of
assistance to the recently created West India Company; the
contemplated war against the Iroquois and how it might successfully be
carried on; the Sovereign Council and the administration of justice; the
settlement of the colony and the advisability of concentrating the
population; the importance of fostering trade and industry; the question
of tithes for the maintenance of the Church; the establishment of
shipbuilding yards and the encouragement of agriculture. This
document was signed by Louis XIV at Paris on March 27, 1665.
On receiving his commission and his instructions, Talon took leave of
the king and the minister, and proceeded to make preparations for his
arduous mission and for the long journey which it involved. By April
22 he was at La Rochelle, to arrange for the embarkation of settlers,
working men, and supplies. He attended the review of the troops that
were bound for New France, and reported to Colbert that the companies
were at their full strength, well equipped and in the best of spirits.
During this time he spared no pains to acquire information about the
new country where he was to work and live. Finally, by May 24,
everything was in readiness, and he wrote to Colbert:
Since apparently I shall not have the honour of writing you another
letter from this place, for our ship awaits only a favourable wind to sail,
allow me to assure you that I am leaving full of gratitude for all the
kindness and favours bestowed on me by the king and yourself.
Knowing that the best way to show my gratitude is to do good service
to His Majesty, and that the best title to future benevolence lies in
strenuous effort for the successful execution of his wishes, I shall do
my utmost to attain that end in the charge I am going to fill. I pray for
your protection and help, which will surely be needed, and if my
endeavours should not be crowned with success, at least it will not be
for want of zeal and fidelity.
A few hours after having written these farewell lines, Talon, in

company with M. de Courcelle, set sail on the Saint Sebastien for
Canada, where he was to make for himself an imperishable name.

CHAPTER II
NEW FRANCE IN 1665
Let us take a glance over the colony at the time when Courcelle and
Talon landed at Quebec after an ocean journey--there were no fast lines
then--of one hundred and seventeen days.
In 1665 Canada had only three settled districts: Quebec, Three Rivers,
and Ville-Marie or Montreal. Quebec, the chief town, bore the proud
title of the capital of New France. Yet it contained barely seventy
houses with about five hundred and fifty inhabitants. Then, as now, it
consisted of a lower and an upper town. In the lower town were to be
found the king's stores and the merchants' shops and residences. The
public officials and the clergy and members of the religious orders
lived in the upper town, where stood the principal buildings of the
capital--the Chateau Saint-Louis, the Bishop's Palace, the Cathedral,
the Jesuits' College and Chapel, and the monasteries of the Ursulines
and of the Hotel-Dieu sisters.
Francois de Laval de Montmorency, bishop of Petraea and vicar
apostolic for Canada, was the spiritual head of the colony. He had
arrived from France six years earlier, in 1659, and was destined to
spend the remainder of his life, nearly half a century, in the service of
the Church in Canada. Because of his noble character and many virtues,
his strong intellect, and his devotion to the public weal, he will ever
rank as one of the greatest figures in Canadian history. His
vicar-general was Henri de Bernieres, who was also parish priest of
Quebec and superior of the seminary founded by the bishop in 1663.
The superior of the Jesuits was Father Le Mercier. The saintly Marie de
l'Incarnation was mother superior of the Ursulines, and Mother Saint
Bonaventure of the Hotel-Dieu.

It may be interesting to recall the names of some of the notable citizens
of Quebec at that time, other than the high officials. There were Michel
Filion and Pierre Duquet, notaries; Jean Madry, surgeon to the king's
majesty; Jean Le Mire, the future syndic des habitants; Madame
d'Ailleboust, widow of a