dant.

The greater part of the soil of Canada was accordingly held _en fief_
or _en seigneurie_. Each grant varied from sixteen _arpents_--an
_arpent_ being about five-sixths of an English acre--by fifty, to ten
leagues by twelve. We meet with other forms of tenure in the partition
of land in the days of the French regime--for instance, _franc aleu
noble_ and _franc aumone_ or _mortmain_, but these were exceptional
grants to charitable, educational, or religious institutions, and were
subject to none of the ordinary obligations of the feudal tenure, but
required, as in the latter case, only the performance of certain
devotional or other duties which fell within their special sphere.
Some grants were also given in _franc aleu roturier_, equivalent to
the English tenure of free and common socage, and were generally made
for special objects.[22]

The _seigneur_, on his accession to the estate, was required to pay
homage to the king, or to his feudal superior from whom he derived his
lands. In case he wished to transfer by sale or otherwise his
seigniory, except in the event of direct natural succession, he had to
pay under the _Coutume de Paris_--which, generally speaking, regulated
such seigniorial grants--a _quint_ or fifth part of the whole purchase
money to his feudal superior, but he was allowed a reduction _(rabat)_
of two-thirds if the money was promptly paid down. In special cases,
land transfers, whether by direct succession or otherwise, were
subject to the rule of _Vixen le_ _francais_, which required the
payment of _relief_, or one year's revenue, on all changes of
ownership, or a payment of gold (_une maille d'or_). It was obligatory
on all seigniors to register their grants at Quebec, to concede or
sub-infeudate them under the rule of _jeu de fief_, and settle them
with as little delay as practicable. The Crown also reserved in most
cases its _jura regalia_ or _regalitates_, such as mines and minerals,
lands for military or defensive purposes, oak timber and masts for the
building of the royal ships. It does not, however, appear that
military service was a condition on which the seigniors of Canada held
their grants, as was the case in France under the old feudal tenure.
The king and his representative in his royal province held such powers
in their own hands. The seignior had as little influence in the
government of the country as he had in military affairs. He might be
chosen to the superior council at th