We have already had occasion to mention incidentally the dismissal by Tracy of Maisonneuve. Whatever the motive of this harsh act may have been, its consequences were most unhappy. Maisonneuve was a man of incorruptible integrity. His successor, François Marie Perrot, was a man of good family and fine appearance, who enjoyed considerable protection at court and needed it all, for he had simply the instincts of a dishonest trader, and used his office for the sole purpose of personal gain. Tracy's connection with Canada was brief, for he was recalled in the year following that in which he made his campaign against the Iroquois, and the government of the country was left in the hands of Courcelles and Talon; the former, as governor, representing the king in a military, political, and high administrative capacity; while the latter, as intendant, was entrusted with all that concerned the finances of the colony and its industrial and commercial development. The two heads of the state seem to have worked together at first, and for a considerable time, with commendable harmony. The governor was a judicious and capable administrator; the intendant, a man of wide views, of singular discretion, and of indefatigable industry. The Abbé Gosselin, in his Life of Laval, says that Talon "troubled himself little about the moral condition of the colony so long as he saw its commerce and industry flourishing"; and again that "he was never well disposed to the clergy, whose influence he feared, dreading that they might become too rich." It is probably the case that he was not very sympathetic with the ecclesiastical powers of the day, but he certainly did apply himself to promote the material prosperity of the colony. Amongst other things he caused three vessels to be built which were despatched to the West Indies with cargoes of dried fish, staves, and lumber; and also established a brewery at Quebec, in the hope of abating the consumption of imported spirits. If he did not achieve a larger measure of success, it was because little was possible under a system of combined monopoly and paternalism. His reports to the home government speak of the country as prosperous. In 1670 he writes that the money granted by the king for the encouragement of families, and the different industries established, have had such a good effect, that now no one dares to beg, unless perhaps some unprotected child too young to work, or some man too old to work or incapacitated by accident or disease.
A census of the country taken by the intendant in the year 1666 showed a total population of 3418. The estimated number of men capable of bearing arms being 1344. The old Company of the Hundred Associates was, by the terms of its contract to have brought 4000 settlers to the colony in fifteen years, dating from 1633; but Talon's figures proved that, in more than twice fifteen years, the whole population still fell considerably short of that number. The population of Quebec at this time was 555, of Montreal 584, and of Three Rivers 461. The seigniory of Beaupré below Quebec had 678 inhabitants and the Island of Orleans 471. The French government had for some years been showing much zeal in sending out settlers to Canada, and it was chiefly owing to its efforts that the population had increased to the extent indicated by the census. The total number of state-directed immigrants from 1664 to the close of the year 1671 is estimated at over 2500—a most substantial addition to the strength of the colony. The Sulpicians must also be credited with some useful activity in the cause of colonization. Their settlers were of course directed to Montreal, and, as the figures above quoted show, the population of that place already exceeded that of Quebec.
The patent granted to the Company of New France, or of the Hundred Associates, had made them lords of the whole territory of Canada, with power to concede seigniories therein of varying degrees of extent, importance and dignity. A few seigniories were established by that company; but, as we have seen, the country under its management was practically at a stand-still. All the rights which it had in the disposition of the land were transferred to the West India Company; and under Talon's régime the creation of seigniories proceeded much more rapidly, owing mainly to the fact that there were suitable applicants for them in the officers of the regiments which the king had sent out. The last few weeks he spent in the country were mainly occupied in this way. In one month he issued sixty patents.[5] This was entirely in accordance with the intentions of the French government, which had promised lands to any of the officers or soldiers of the Carignan Regiment who might elect to settle in the country. A large number accepted the proposition; and to provide wives for the excess of men existing in the colony the government was assiduous in sending out marriageable girls, on the whole very carefully selected, who as a rule were snapped up immediately on arrival by wistful bachelors or disconsolate widowers. If any were slow in finding partners owing to lack of visible attractions, they were bonused in money and household goods, which usually had the effect desired. Bounties were moreover paid throughout the colony for early and fruitful marriages; and the administrators were instructed to see that special respect was paid to the fathers of large families, and particularly to those who, having large families, had succeeded in marrying off their boys and girls at an early age. Contrariwise, fathers whose children showed backwardness in entering on matrimony were to be the objects of official displeasure. Parkman expresses the truth with his usual picturesque force when he says that, "throughout the length and breadth of Canada, Hymen, if not Cupid, was whipped into a frenzy of activity." A gratifying success attended these practical measures. By the year 1671 the total population had increased to six thousand. There were in that year seven hundred baptisms; and the bishop, from doubtless reliable sources of information, was able to promise the governor eleven hundred for the next year. Unfortunately infant mortality was in those days extremely high; or the population would indeed have been increasing by leaps and bounds.
It is a matter of regret that the early historians of Canada feel themselves obliged to record a decline in the morals of the country, dating from the arrival of the king's troops in 1665. Up to that time, we are told, the inhabitants—those in the Montreal district at least—had lived in a condition of pristine simplicity and innocence, recalling that of the early Christians. No one locked his house by day or night, the crime of theft being unknown. The ordinances of the church were strictly observed by the whole population; but, if on occasion any one failed in his duty, punishment promptly followed. For example, a man on the Island of Orleans, having eaten meat on a Friday, was fined twenty-five francs, half of which went to the parish church, and threatened with corporal punishment if he repeated the offence. "Here," observes the Abbé Faillon with quiet enthusiasm, "we see the true destination of the secular power."
But—ages of gold have a tendency to vanish away, and the Astraea of the French colony took her sad flight shortly after the Carignan-Salières Regiment arrived. These men had the pleasure-loving ways of soldiers, and war had not trained them to a very strict regard for personal rights or clerical admonitions. A ball was given at Quebec—the first ever held in the country—on the 4th February 1667. The clergy held their breath, not knowing what might follow. Many abuses, it would seem, followed: morals began to be relaxed; thefts became sufficiently common to bring bolts and locks into requisition; a Seneca chief was cruelly murdered by three soldiers; and shortly afterwards six Indians were massacred in their sleep by some settlers near Montreal. The object of the latter crime was to obtain possession of a large quantity of furs which the Indians had brought down to sell. That peace with the natives was gravely imperilled by these atrocious deeds may readily be imagined. It took all the firmness and tact of the governor to avoid an outbreak. The three soldiers were shot by his orders in the presence of a number of Indians. The other criminals seem to have escaped punishment by flight.
The last important act of Courcelles was to undertake a journey up the St. Lawrence as far as the outlet of Lake Ontario. The object of this adventure was to impress upon the more distant Iroquois tribes, who had boasted that they were out of reach of the French arms, that such was not the case. The idea which these savages had was that the only route by which the French could penetrate into their country was by way of the river Richelieu and Lake Champlain, in which case they would have first to pass through the "buffer" territory of the eastern Iroquois tribes. The rapids of the St. Lawrence, they thought, would effectually bar approach by way of Lake Ontario. To demonstrate their error, Courcelles gave orders for the construction of a flat-boat of two or three tons burden, which could be rowed in smooth water, and dragged up difficult places on the rapids. When this craft was ready, he manned it with a crew of eight men; and, taking also thirteen bark canoes, he ascended the river successfully with a party of over fifty men, including the governor of Montreal and other leading officials. The Iroquois (Cayugas and Senecas) took due note of the feat and revised their opinions accordingly.
In the following year both Courcelles and Talon were recalled at their own request. There had been friction between them for some time, and they seem to have thought that it would be best for the king's service that they should both retire. Whatever the causes of difference may have been, they did not squabble in public like some of their successors. The services of both were highly appreciated by the French government, and the departure of both from Canada was very generally and sincerely regretted.