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An event of the greatest importance to the affairs of the colony, both civil and ecclesiastical, was the arrival in 1659 of François de Laval de Montmorency, Bishop of Petræa in Arabia in partibus infidelium. He was appointed at first Vicar Apostolic of New France, and was to receive the title of Bishop of Quebec fifteen years later. Designated for the position by the Jesuits, he was at all times very friendly to that order. A man of remarkable personality and strength of character, and filling positions of power in both church and state, he naturally exercised an immense influence on the civil and religious institutions of Canada. His trouble with successive governors and councils arose first of all from the question of the eau-de-vie, or brandy, traffic with the Indians, but finally included several other matters.

The political power of the bishop was naturally very great. One of the first manifestations of it was the recall of Governor d’Avaugour. The centre of the difficulty was the brandy traffic. This was a very difficult question to settle. The evils of employing brandy in the trade with the Indians were early recognized, and the traffic had been discouraged though never suppressed. When the trade monopoly passed from the Company of One Hundred Associates to the people of the colony, the most influential persons in the colony were immediately interested in securing furs from the Indians on the most advantageous terms. Undoubtedly, the most effective and profitable article of trade with the Indians was brandy, hence the use of it was openly sanctioned. But not only were the individual merchants interested in this matter, but the colonial finances, as we have seen, involving the support of the civil and military establishments, depended upon the profits of the fur trade, and therefore upon the question of the brandy traffic. When Bishop Laval came to the country, he threw himself heart and soul into the struggle being made by the Jesuits to suppress the traffic,^[1] which, in its effects upon the Indians, was most disastrous to their missionary enterprise, and put in jeopardy the lives of the missionaries themselves. The governor, d’Avaugour, was disposed to side with the merchants, and a conflict was precipitated which in the end was not confined to the central question at issue.

Bishop Laval, having made himself familiar with the conditions of the colony and having realized what were its chief needs, from his point of view, and laid his plans accordingly, returned to France and by the force of his personality and the influence which he was able to command there accomplished practically all of his important purposes.

He had convinced himself that his title of vicar-apostolic was too precarious and not sufficient to ensure the complete usefulness of his mission. His views were favourably considered by the king, who wrote to the pope, in 1664, asking for the erection of Quebec as the seat of a diocese, and for the nomination of Laval as first bishop. The negotiations between Rome and the French court were delayed by many incidents. It had been proposed to place the Bishop of Quebec under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Rouen. But the pope insisted on retaining his direct jurisdiction over the new diocese. At last Louis xiv assented to that scheme and the bill of erection was signed on October 1, 1674. The event was a great one for the Canadian Church and a notable achievement for Laval.

He was equally successful in his plan for the founding of his seminary. An establishment of that kind was necessary for the recruiting and training of the clergy. But Laval entertained special views on that question. In his mind the seminary and the clergy should form one single body. Every secular priest employed for mission or parish work should be a member of that community. All the tithes and ecclesiastical dues should be made payable to them. In a word he wanted to form ‘his clergy into a family with himself at its head. His seminary, the mother who had reared them, was further charged to maintain them, nurse them in sickness, and support them in old age. Under her maternal roof the tired priest found repose among his brethren; and thither every year he repaired from the charge of his flock in the wilderness, to freshen his devotion and animate his zeal by a season of meditation and prayer.’ The bishop was happily able to secure the approbation of the court for the new foundation on the lines which he proposed.

The Seminary of Quebec was organized by Bishop Laval while in Paris, the instrument establishing it being dated March 26, 1663. It received the formal approbation of the king in April of the same year. In this document, approving of the establishment and organization of the seminary, the king sanctioned the appointment of Laval as Bishop of Quebec, whenever it should please His Holiness the Pope to establish the diocese of Quebec and make the appointment. For the endowment of the seminary and the extension of its work throughout Canada, the king ordained that the sole produce of the tithes, whether levied on the produce of labour or of nature, should be handed over without any limitations to the seminary, which was also authorized to receive all manner of gifts, donations, or legacies, whether directly or by testament.

An edict for the establishment of the Sovereign Council of Quebec was issued in April 1663. It made no mention of the setting up of the council in 1647-48, but gave much the same arguments for its existence as in the previous documents. The feudal rights of the Company of One Hundred Associates were withdrawn and the colony was taken over by the crown. The council was to administer the general law as it was in France. It was to register and enforce decrees issued by the king and sent out for the government of the colony. It was to pass and enforce such necessary local ordinances as the immediate needs of the colony should require, and administer the executive government of the colony. While the council should have its normal seat at Quebec, it might assemble, if necessary, at any other place in the colony.

The council was to consist of the governor and the bishop, or chief ecclesiastic in the colony, and of five others selected by them jointly and holding their offices at the pleasure of these two. The previous provision that the ex-governor, if in the country, should be a member of the council, and the conditional provision for the lieutenant-governors of Three Rivers and Montreal were dropped, though these parties might still be appointed among the five general members provided for.

De Mézy, the new governor, and Bishop Laval himself are named in the edict as the two first members of the council. In addition to the provision for a secretary, or registrar, as in the former act, there is a new office created under the title of procurer, or crown attorney. The council was to constitute a final court of appeal for all cases, civil or criminal, and the general law administered should be that of the custom of Paris. As formerly, however, the king reserves to himself the right to change the law by repeal, re-enactment, or amendment in such manner as he sees fit. A new power is that of appointing such local officers of justice in Quebec, Montreal, Three Rivers and elsewhere as may be necessary. These magistrates shall have power to render judgment in the first instance, as between individuals, the object being to enable the people to obtain speedy, simple and direct application of the law.

The five councillors appointed by the governor and the bishop may act as a kind of standing sub-committee of the council to supervise the execution of the orders of the council, hear complaints, and receive the recommendations of the syndics. The councillors were not to hold any other offices, or receive any commissions from the people.

The civil and judicial authority was therefore divided equally between the governor and the bishop, while the ecclesiastical authority was in the hands of the bishop alone. That the bishop used his immense power in a manner not above the criticism of certain minds, it is true, but on the whole moderately, was another proof of his lofty character and great qualities.

Immediately on their arrival in Canada in 1663, Laval and de Mézy devoted themselves to the task of organizing the work of the Sovereign Council. They registered in the council the various edicts which provided for the restoration of the colony to the crown, for the new civil and ecclesiastical systems of government, and the establishment of the seminary.

The council appointed Maisonneuve as acting lieutenant-governor of the Island of Montreal and provided for the appointment of a judge, a crown attorney and a registrar for that district. A little later, Pierre Boucher was appointed lieutenant-governor of Three Rivers.

A survey of the activities of the council within the first year after its reconstruction shows that it dealt with a large variety of affairs. It fixed prices, regulated trade, administered the local police and provided for minor municipal officials and regulations. Evidently it had a high sense of its dignity, exacting due reverence from the people who appeared before it. Within two months after its establishment, one man was fined fifty livres, and another sent to prison for irreverence and impertinence towards the council. Owing to the volume of business to be dealt with, it was found necessary to devote certain days to smaller private affairs and others to general questions of police and finance. Enjoying co-ordinate powers, it was perhaps but natural that the governor and the bishop should not always agree as to general policy and particular measures. The first evidence of friction between them occurred in the early part of 1664 and developed into an open rupture over the dismissal of the crown attorney and the appointment of his successor.

As an indication of the discretionary power exhibited by the council in the matter of royal decrees sent from France to be registered and enforced in Canada, we find that a decree, declaring that all grants of lands not cleared within six months should be revoked, was modified by the council, which decided that it should be enforced only against those who were not resident on the lands, but simply held them for speculative purposes.

At the close of its first year some changes were made in the personnel of the council, followed by proceedings against some of the retiring members requiring them to render a detailed account of their expenditures. A little later, at the instance of the attorney-general, an order was issued prohibiting the officers of justice and of the revenue from taking remuneration from the people, beyond the fees prescribed.

It is not necessary to deal with the details of the disputes between the bishop and the governor who had been nominated by him for office. As we have seen, a preponderance of power in the colony had been granted to the bishop. A man of so much ability as Laval would naturally employ the power at his disposal to further his far-reaching plans.

[1]	See ‘New France: A General Survey’ and ‘The Colony in its Economic Relations,’ in this section, for a fuller statement of the arguments put forth by the bishop against the liquor traffic.