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The great governor, Frontenac, arrived in 1672. His restless activity was a source of strength and vitality to the colony, but it led him into difficulties with the other colonial authorities and with the home government. One of his weaknesses was intolerance of opposition to his own supreme authority; another was his love of pomp and display. As already narrated,^[1] very soon after assuming office he sought to enhance his dignity by introducing into Canada a moribund institution of France known as the ‘States-General.’ This was discountenanced by both Laval and Talon. The intendant absented himself from the ceremony and shortly afterwards departed for France. When the proceedings were reported to the home government the minister very decidedly threw cold water on Frontenac’s attempt to glorify the king through himself.

Owing to the industrial policy and activities that Talon had initiated, the progress of the colony was now very marked and was the occasion of no little apprehension in the adjoining British colonies. It was therefore natural that Frontenac should feel the importance of his position. It is not to be forgotten that he was governor and lieutenant-general of all the dominions of France in North America. The local governors of Acadia and Newfoundland were required to report to him and were subject to his orders.

In 1675 Duchesneau succeeded Talon as intendant. The West India Company having been dissolved and their charter revoked by the king in the preceding year, it was necessary to provide for a continuance of the political powers that had been vested in the company. Accordingly a declaration of the king in June 1675 set forth once more the composition of the Sovereign Council and its powers and obligations. The council was henceforth to consist of the governor, who is also lieutenant-general of the colony; the Bishop of Quebec, or, in his absence, the grand vicar; the intendant; seven other councillors, whose names are given; the attorney-general and the registrar. The intendant Duchesneau, though holding the third place in official rank, was appointed president of the council, occupying much the same position as the president of the courts in France. Otherwise the terms of the edict of 1663 establishing the council were to remain unchanged and in full force. But it was no longer to be known as the Sovereign Council, the king directing that the name Superior Council be substituted.

Louis xiv now took personal control of the affairs of New France. He required that henceforth Frontenac should write directly to him. He was required to render to the king a detailed account of everything passing in Canada, whether relating to war, justice, police or the growth of the colony, and he was to receive his instructions directly from the king.

LOUIS XIV

From the painting by Jean Garnier in the Versailles Gallery

During Frontenac’s first administration (1672-82) difficulties with the English colonies began to foreshadow serious continental and, hence, international problems. Though France and England were at peace, and the English court decidedly under French influence, yet it was evident that many intercolonial difficulties would arise to threaten the existence of one or other of the colonial powers of North America. Owing to the complete dependence of the French colony on the fur trade, its troublesome relations with the Iroquois, and the impossibility of communicating with France during the winter months, it was perhaps natural that the colonial authorities in France should recognize the prospect of difficulties in America earlier and more accurately than did the corresponding English officials. With their appreciation of the situation, there can be no question as to the far-sighted wisdom of the French governors, d’Avaugour and Frontenac, and the intendant, Talon, in urging upon the French court the supreme importance of securing, by negotiation or otherwise, Lake Champlain and the Hudson River region, including the towns of Orange (Albany) and Manhattan (New York). With France in possession of this region, there would be secured to Canada a regular winter port at Manhattan, while, by controlling the only southern route from the lakes to the sea, France would command the trade of the Iroquois country, and obtain an undisputed ascendancy over those warlike tribes. In fact, it would at one stroke deliver the Canadian colonies from their most dangerous rival, and, by commanding the whole of the country to the rear of the New England settlements, prevent them from extending their power westward, to the certain injury and jeopardy of French possessions and settlements in the north. They had pointed out, also, that then was the time to act, while the English colonies were still undeveloped and while the French king had such an ascendancy over the English court. The French king, however, had serious problems nearer at hand and was not disposed to prepare so far in advance for possible difficulties in North America. These could be dealt with more conveniently and just as advantageously at a later period. But before the French court was prepared to take up the matter, the opportunity had passed away. The English court, instead of being the passive ally of France, had become the leader of her enemies, and the most powerful of her rivals. If, however, the French court were not able to secure for France the country to the south of the St Lawrence and the lakes, the next best plan, according to Frontenac, would be to carry out the suggestion of de Courcelle, made after his famous trip up the St Lawrence rapids to Lake Ontario, to build a fort at the outlet of that lake, which would at once furnish to the western Indians a visible emblem of French power and authority and prevent the diversion of their trade to the English settlements to the south. This design Frontenac carried out on his trip to Lake Ontario, where, in 1673, he built Fort Frontenac at the mouth of Cataraqui River. He favoured the petition of La Salle for the grant of the fort on condition that he should maintain it as an outpost of the French power for the control of the Indians, by alliance if possible, but by force if necessary. The proposal was reluctantly acted upon by the home government and La Salle received a grant of the post in 1675.

In 1679 Duchesneau, the intendant, through the Marquis de Seignelay, who had succeeded Colbert, his father, as minister, sent to the king a report on the English colonies to the south, in which he stated that these colonies constituted no real menace to the French possessions, as they were devoted to industry, trade, and the arts of peace, and were quite unwarlike. The French, on the other hand, if they cared to attack them, could probably capture, if not the whole, yet a large section of the English colonies. Had Duchesneau had as much insight as Talon and Frontenac, he would have recognized that this very feature of the industrial development of the English colonies would constitute the most effective menace to the French settlements, and would ultimately determine the outcome of the colonial rivalry between the two European powers. Duchesneau recognized, of course, one great advantage which the superior industry and trading qualities of the English gave them over the French, namely, in attracting the fur trade of the Indians to Albany. To remove this difficulty, he favoured the idea of the French government purchasing the colony of New York from the Duke of York. This would enable the French to control the whole of the Indian country and its trade. His only objection to this plan of settling the outstanding disputes arose from his fear that the more restless element among the French settlers would be tempted to leave Canada and take up their abode in New York.

A prolonged and acrimonious dispute arose between the governor and the intendant as to their relative powers in the council. The home government, in appointing the intendant president of the council, in 1675, did not specify how far his authority should extend. Was he merely to be the presiding officer, or had he any authority to regulate the affairs of the council, and if so, how far did it extend? The governor still held his precedence in the council followed by the bishop, while the intendant, though president, was only third in order of precedence. Obviously there were all the elements for a dispute of the first order, and none of the opportunities were lost on either side. Both parties were censured by the king for their excessive contentions and for infringing on the authority of the other, and, in 1682, both were recalled.

[1]	See ‘New France: A General Survey’ in this section.