The governor had command of the militia and troops, and was nominally
superior in authority to the intendant, but in the course of time the
latter became virtually the most influential officer in the colony and
even presided at the council-board. This official, who had the right to
report directly to the king on colonial affairs, had large civil,
commercial and maritime jurisdiction, and could issue ordinances which
had full legal effect in the country. Associated with the governor and
intendant was a council comprising in the first instance five, and
eventually twelve, persons, chosen from the leading people of the
colony. The change of name, from the "Supreme Council" to the "Superior
Council," is of itself some evidence of the determination of the king to
restrain the pretensions of all official bodies throughout the kingdom
and its dependencies. This body exercised legislative and judicial
powers. The bishop was one of its most important members, and the
history of the colony is full of the quarrels that arose between him and
the governor on points of official etiquette or with respect to more
important matters affecting the government of the country.

Protestantism was unknown in Canada under French rule, and the
enterprise of the Huguenots was consequently lost to a country always
suffering from a want of population. Even the merchants of La Rochelle,
who traded with the country, found themselves invariably subject to
restrictions which placed them at an enormous disadvantage in their
competition with their Roman Catholic rivals. The Roman Catholic Church
was all powerful at the council-board as well as in the parish. In the
past as in the present century, a large Roman Catholic church rose, the
most prominent building in every town and village, illustrating its
dominating influence in the homes of every community of the province.
The parishes were established at an early date for ecclesiastical