"The following is an extract from the Centenary report: 'This once magnificent pile was constructed under the French King's directions in 1684, under Intendant de Meules. It was burnt in 1712, when occupied by Intendant Bégon, and restored by the French Government. It became, from 1748 to 1759, the luxurious resort of Intendant Bigot and his wassailers. Under English rule it was neglected, and Arnold's men having, from the cupola, annoyed Guy Carleton's soldiers, orders were given to destroy it with the city guns.'
"'Skulking riflemen in St. Roch's, watching behind walls to kill our sentries, some of them fired from the cupola of the Intendant's Palace. We brought a nine-pounder to answer them.'—(Extract from a journal of an officer of the Quebec Garrison.)
"For those who may not be familiar with the meaning of the term 'Intendant,' and the official duties of his office, the following remarks are submitted from the most authentic sources. It was one of civil administration, direction management, superintendence, &c., and next to that of Governor-General, the office of Intendant was one of the greatest importance and celebrity in Quebec. It was established by the proclamation of the King of France in 1663,—creating a Sovereign Council for the affairs of the Colony—viz: the Governor-General, the Bishop, the Intendant and four Councillors, with an Attorney-General and Chief Clerk. The number of Councillors was afterwards increased to twelve.
"The authority of the Intendant, except in his executive capacity, was indeed little inferior to that of the Governor himself. He had the superintendence of four departments, viz: Justice, Police, Finance, and Marine.
The first intendant named under the proclamation of 1663 was M. Robert; but he never came to Canada to fill his office, and it was not till the summer of 1655 that Jean de Talon arrived at Quebec, as the first real Intendant, with the Viceroy deTracy, and the Carignan Regiment. The building in which the Sovereign Council first held their meetings would appear to have stood on the south side of Fabrique street westward (?) of the Jesuit College, known at that time as the 'Treasury.'
"During the Intendancy of M. de Meules, in 1684, that gentleman, at his own expense, endowed the eastern portion of the St. Roch's suburbs with an edifice henceforth known as the 'Intendant's Palace' ('Le Palais'), remarkable for its dimensions, magnificence and general appearance; it included also (according to old plans) about ten acres of land contained probably between St. Rochs and St. Nicholas streets, having the River St. Charles in front, and afterwards laid out in ornamental gardens. The Palace was described by La Potherie, in 1698, as consisting of eighty toises, or 480 feet of buildings, so that it appeared a little town in itself. The King's stores were also kept there.
"In 1712, Intendant Bégon, with a splendid equipage and retinue, arrived in Quebec from France, and took up his residence at the Palace. On the 5th of January, 1713, the entire building and premises unfortunately were destroyed by fire, and such was the rapidity of the flames that the Intendant and his wife escaped with great difficulty. Madame Bégon was obliged to break the panes of glass in her apartment before she had power to breathe. The young lady attendants were burned to death. The Intendant's valet de chambre, anxious to save some of his master's wardrobe, also perished in the flames. His Secretary, passing barefooted from the Palace to the river front, was so much frozen that he died in the Hospital of the Hôtel-Dieu a few days afterwards. [127]
"The Palace was afterward rebuilt under the direction of M. Bégon at the expense of His Majesty, and of which the plans and elevation now presented are presumed to be a correct and faithful illustration. The principal entrance appears to have been from that side next the cliff, opposite the 'Arsenal,'—or from the present line of St. Valier street—with large store buildings, magazines, &c., on either side of the entrance, and in the rear of that stood the building known as the 'Prison.' It would appear that La Potherie's remark, in 1698, of the first construction resembling a little town in itself, would also apply to the group of the second construction—as no less than twenty in number are shown on some of the old plans of this period. From sketches taken on the spot by an officer of the Fleet in Wolfe's expedition of 1759, and published in London two years afterwards, there can be little doubt, for want of room elsewhere, that the Palace was converted into barracks and occupied immediately after the surrender of Quebec by the troops under General Murray, and continued to be used as such until it fell into the hands of the American insurgents under Arnold, in 1775, and was destroyed by the cannon from the ramparts. The assumption is strengthened, if not confirmed, by the occupation of the Jesuit College as barracks the following year the amount of accommodation in both cases, a full regiment—would be the same; hence the comfortable quarters in the 'Palais' by the rebel force under Arnold, which would accommodate the most of his men.
"The appearance of this once celebrated structure in its general aspect was more imposing from its extent than from any architectural ornate embellishments. The style was the French domestic of that period, of two clear stories in height, the extreme frontage was 260 feet, with projecting wings at either end of 20 feet (vide plan), the depth from the front of the wings to the rear line 75 feet, and the central part 58 feet; the height from the site level to the apex of roof about 55 feet, and to the eaves line about 33 feet; in the basement there were no less than 9 vaults, 10 feet high to the crown of the arch running along the whole front, as shown in the elevation. The apartments in the two stories are divided longitudinally by a wall from one end to the other, and comprise altogether about 40 in number, allotted into barrack-rooms as per original military plans.
"The roof is plain and steep, and only broken by the pedimented wings at each end of the building, with chimney stacks and stone coping over the transverse fire walls, and otherwise relieved by a small octagonal cupola of two sections placed in the centre of the roof. The approach to the building in front is by two flights of steps, an enclosed porch forming a central feature to the main entrance; the basement windows are shewn in the elevation above the ground line. The walls were substantially built of black slate rock peculiar to Quebec and must have taken much time in the erection judging from its tenacity, and the hardness of the material still remaining. No doubt the walls, as was the practice in those days, were built of dry masonry, a few feet at a time, and then grouted with mortar in a thin semi-fluid state, composed of quicklime and fine sand poured into the interspaces of the stone-work, filling every cavity, excluding the air, and left to dry before commencing the next course. The wrought stone at the quoins and angles appear to have been quarried at Point-aux-Trembles, or more likely at Beauport, while the sides of the doors and windows were faced with hard Flemish brick, still intact, and beyond doubt imported directly from France. [128] The main store buildings in front, with vaults underneath, were undoubtedly built in the same compact manner, as Mr. Boswell, some years ago, in excavating for his brewery on the site of these stores, came in contact with the old foundation walls, so hard that powder had to be used for blasting. The mortar was found to be harder than stone, and a drill had but small effect upon it. That gentleman many years ago became the tenant of the war department for these ruins and vaults, and has roofed them in, taken care of the property and made improvements generally at his own expense. There is an old story current that a subterraneous passage, under the old ruins, led to the river. Others say that a passage communicated with the Upper Town. It is highly probable the old vaults and passage discovered by Mr. Boswell in the above excavation have been the origin of this story; for in one case towards the river it would be flooded at high water, and towards the Upper Town barred by a rampart of solid rock.