Old Quebec: The Fortress of New FranceParker, Gilbert
History
Old Quebec: The Fortress of New France
Parker, Gilbert
Québec (Province) -- History
The peasants, moreover, were far from rebelling against the
impositions of their seigneurs, which they took as part of the order
of nature; and General Murray, writing after the Conquest, thus bears
testimony to the feeling of good-fellowship prevailing between the two
classes: "The tenants, who pay only an annual quit-rent of about a
dollar a year for about a hundred acres, are at their ease and
comfortable. They have been accustomed to respect and obey their
noblesse; their tenures being military in the feudal manner, they have
shared with them the dangers of the field, and natural affection has
been increased in proportion to the calamities which have been common
to both, from the conquest of the country. As they have been taught to
respect their superiors, and are not yet intoxicated with the abuse
of liberty, they are shocked at the insults which their noblesse and
the King's officers have received from the English traders and lawyers
since the civil government took place."
[Illustration: JESUITS' BARRACKS]
Each householder was responsible for the street before his property,
being compelled to keep it clean of snow and refuse. Innkeepers
required a license, and had to conform to rigid laws. Cattle, pigs,
and sheep were impounded if found straying in the streets, and the
Intendant strictly regulated the possession of live-stock.
The first horse seen in New France had been brought out by the
Governor Montmagny about 1636; but before the end of the century many
more were shipped from Havre, and it was not long before the law began
to regulate this new feature of social life. An ordinance forbade any
_habitant_ to possess more than two mares and one colt. In riding away
from service on Sunday the horseman was forbidden to break into a
canter until he had travelled ten arpents from the church. Private
baptism of children was refused except in cases of absolute necessity.
The order in which the personages of Quebec should receive the
sacrament was precisely established. Roads, bridges, and churches were
built by forced labour. The construction of houses, both as to
material and design, was regulated by law. Builders were required to
conform to a line and face their houses on the highway. Certain
personages, however, claimed exemption from this rule, and to these
was accorded the right--_d'avoir pignon sur rue_--to have the gable on
the street, the purpose being to secure a certain degree of privacy by
means of an entrance away from the public highway.
[Illustration: MODERN CALÈCHES]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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