RETROSPECT OF MAISONNEUVE'S JUDICIAL SENTENCES--FIRST DEATH
SENTENCE--INJURIOUS LANGUAGE--CALUMNY--BANISHMENT--GAMES OF
CHANCE, DRUNKENNESS AND BLASPHEMY, ETC., FORBIDDEN--THE GOVERNOR
GENERAL AND THE LOCAL GOVERNOR OF MONTREAL--A PESSIMISTIC
PICTURE OF MONTREAL IN 1659--A BISHOP FOR NEW FRANCE--LAVAL,
CONSECRATED BISHOP OF PETREA IN ARABIA, ARRIVES AT QUEBEC AS
VICAR APOSTOLIC--DE QUEYLUS RECALLED TO FRANCE--THE REINFORCEMENT
ARRIVES WITH JEANNE MANCE AND MARGUERITE BOURGEOYS--THE STORY
OF ITS JOURNEY--DIFFICULTIES AT LA FLECHE--SHIP FEVER ON THE
ST. ANDRE--DIFFICULTIES AT QUEBEC--LAVAL WOULD RETAIN THE
HOSPITALIERES BROUGHT BY JEANNE MANCE--THEY ARE FINALLY ALLOWED TO
PROCEED TO THE HOTEL DIEU OF MONTREAL.
Before we narrate the outcome of the visit to France of Jeanne Mance
and Marguerite Bourgeoys, who returned on September 7th to Quebec, and
also the events leading up to the coming of Laval on June 16th, we
shall still keep the setting of Montreal as the background of our story.
So far we have considered Maisonneuve as a military governor. He was
also a judge. This was a special privilege superadded to his commission
as a "gouverneur particulier," which office, _per se_, did not include
the administration of justice. Several of his judgments being extant, a
study of them reveals a picture of the social life of Montreal hitherto
unconsidered.
The journal of the Jesuits relates that towards September, 1648, a
drummer had been condemned to death at Montreal for a detestable crime
not specified, but as the clergy were secretly opposed to the execution
of the sentence, it was arranged that he should be sent to Quebec to
use his right of appeal. There the sentence was commuted to service
in the galleys or, in exchange for his liberty, he should exercise
the duty of public executioner, which latter condition was accepted.
Heretofore there is no record of any condemnation to death.
Sometimes the cases coming before Maisonneuve were of a purely domestic
nature. On July 3, 1658, two women having quarrelled, each laid a
complaint against the other of bad language. The wrong appearing to
be on both sides, Maisonneuve gave each twenty-four hours, for their
anger to evaporate, and to declare before Basset, the greffier, and
two witnesses, that they had spoken in pure anger. If either of them
refused she should pay fifty _livres_ to the parish church and besides
be forcibly constrained to acknowledge her fault. Both wisely took the
cheaper course, as the acts of Basset prove.[80]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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