t to chance. The seignior was obliged to cultivate his estate
at a risk of forfeiture, consequently it was absolutely necessary that
he should exert himself to bring settlers upon his lands. The
obligation of the _habitant_ to grind his corn in the seignior's {166}
mill was clearly an advantage for the settlers. In the early days of
the colony, however, the seigniors were generally too poor to fulfil
this condition, and the _habitants_ had to grind corn between stones,
or in rude hand mills. The seigniors had the right of dispensing
justice in certain cases, though it was one he very rarely exercised.
As respects civil affairs, however, both lord and vassal were to all
intents and purposes on the same footing, for they were equally ignored
in matters of government.

In the days of the French regime, the only towns for many years were
Quebec, Montreal, and Three Rivers. In remote and exposed places--like
those on the Richelieu, where officers and soldiers of the
Carignan-Salieres Regiment had been induced to settle--palisaded
villages had been built. The principal settlements were, in course of
time, established on the banks of the St. Lawrence, as affording in
those days the easiest means of intercommunication. As the lots of a
seigniorial grant were limited in area--four arpents in front by forty
in depth--the farms in the course of time assumed the appearance of a
continuous settlement on the river. These various settlements became
known in local phraseology as Cotes, apparently from their natural
situation on the banks of the river. This is the origin of Cote des
Neiges, Cote St. Louis, Cote St. Paul, and of many picturesque villages
in the neighbourhood of Montreal and Quebec. As the country became
settled, parishes were established for ecclesiastical purposes and the
administration of local affairs. Here the influential men were the
cure, the seignior, and the captain of the militia. The seignior, from
{167} his social position, exercised a considerable weight in the
community, but not to the degree that the representative of the Church
enjoyed. The church in the parishes was kept up by tithes, regulated
by ordinances, and first imposed by Bishop Laval for the support of the
Quebec Seminary and the clergy. Next to the cure in importance was the
captain of the militia. The whole province was formed into a militia
district, so that, in times of war, the inhabitants might be obliged to
perform military