purposes, and their extent was defined wherever necessary by the
council at Quebec. They were practically territorial divisions for the
administration of local affairs, and were conterminous, whenever
practicable, with the seigniory. The curé, the seignior, the militia
captain (often identical with the seignior), were the important
functionaries in every parish. Even at the present time, when a
canonical parish has been once formed by the proper ecclesiastical
authority, it may be erected into a municipal or civil division after
certain legal formalities by the government of the province. Tithes were
first imposed by Bishop Laval, who practically established the basis of
ecclesiastical authority in the province. It was only in church matters
that the people had the right to meet and express their opinions, and
even then the intendant alone could give the power of assembling for
such purposes.

The civil law of French Canada relating to "property," inheritance,
marriage, and the personal or civil rights of the community generally,
had its origin, like all similar systems, in the Roman law, on which
were engrafted, in the course of centuries, those customs and usages
which were adapted to the social conditions of France. The customary law
of Paris became the fundamental law of French Canada, and despite the
changes that it has necessarily undergone in the course of many years,
its principles can still be traced throughout the present system as it
has been modified under the influences of the British regime. The
superior council of Canada gave judgment in civil and criminal cases
according to the _coutume de Paris_, and below it there were inferior
courts for the judicial districts of Quebec, Three Rivers and Montreal.
The bishop had also special jurisdiction over ecclesiastical matters.
The intendant had authority to deal with cases involving royal, or
seigniorial, rights, and to call before him any case whatever for final