M. de Mézy no doubt felt the weakness of his position. The moral strength of government would be dominated by the bishop and in a conflict the councillors and others would side with the bishop as vicar apostolic, who was irremovable, except by the pope, until death, while the governor general could be recalled even before his three years were completed. Hence his patience was tried and his dignity hurt; thus he lost his head and went beyond his powers. On the other hand, the bishop would honestly not have been prepared for this outburst. With pain and astonishment Laval replied, on February 16th, that he could not in honour or in conscience ratify the suspension of the councillors until they should be convicted of their alleged crimes against the governor. The suspension of Bourdon, the king's procurator, held up the administration of justice. This Mézy endeavoured to correct by appointing, on March 10th, against the will of Laval, another, in the person of the Sieur Chartier. He went further and arbitrarily dissolved the council on September 18th, and on the 24th established another without the consent and participation of the bishop. On September 23d M. Bourdon sailed to France at the command of de Mézy to render an account of his service to the king. In October de Mézy published again, at the beat of the drum, another proclamation, which incensed the ecclesiastical party. The dissentions in Quebec could not but have a disquieting effect on Montreal, now politically more dependent on Quebec than ever. FOOTNOTES: [90] The seigneury of St. Sulpice, already granted, is included in this as part of the whole. [91] D'Avaugour received the news as a magnanimous soldier. On his way home he wrote from Gaspé a memorial to Colbert in which he commends New France to the king. "The St. Lawrence," he says, "is the entrance to what may be made the greatest state in the world." In his purely military way he recounts the means of making this grand possibility by a military colonization. [92] One horse only had reached Canada previously. It arrived June 20, 1647, and was presented to the governor, Montmagny.