[GANONG] HISTORIC SITES IN NEW BRUNSWICK 303 



fore another of those barren branches of which history has so many, one 

 whose interest must be chiefly sentimental, and whose details may be 

 omitted altogether in any work which attempts to follow the line of evolu- 

 tion of present-day conditions. 



It is of course entirely outside the scope and limits of the present 

 "work to discuss the history of the seigniorial system and of the New 

 Brunswick seigniories ; properly we are concerned here only with their 

 locations. A copious literature upon the subject arose in connection with 

 the discussions leading to the buying out of the rights of the Seigniors of 

 the Province of Quebec by the Quebec Giovernment in 1854, and there are 

 many easily-obtainable reports printed at that time in both English and 

 French, some of which contain valuable reprints of the Acadian seig- 

 niorial grants. Particularly valuable upon the historical aspects of the 

 subject is "The Seigniorial Tenure in Canada and Plan of Commutation," 

 by J. C. Taché, Quebec, 1854. The general subject is treated in synopsis 

 in vol. iii. of the recently issued " Canada, An Encyclopaîdia," to which 

 the reader interested in the subject will do well to turn. There is also a 

 " Histoire du droit Canadien " (Montreal, 1888), dealing with this subject, 

 but I have not seen it. I shall hei-e give but a few leading facts connected 

 with the origin and fate of Acadian Seigniories. 



A seigniorial gi'antgave to the Seignior and his heirs forever the title 

 to their lands, with the right of fishing, huntiag, trading and the adminis- 

 tration of justice to their tenants, and they had to render homage to the 

 representatives of the King at Quebec at stated periods. They were 

 required to settle colonists upon their lands within a fixed time and in 

 •certain numbers, to keep rivers open for navigation, to open highways, 

 and to observe other legal conditions. In addition to the seigniorial 

 grants, usually very extensive, there were other property grants, giving 

 the grantee the right to farm, hunt, trade, etc., but no rights of justice 

 over tenants. Of the latter sort were the small grants of Meusnier 

 at Magaguadavic and Des Gi-ez at Pokemouche later to be spoken of; 

 while all of the remainder of the grants in New Brunswick were true 

 seigniories. 



In 1627 Louis XIII. granted all New France in fief and seigniory to 

 the Company of New France, which resigned its rights in 1663, and between 

 those dates the Seigniories were granted by the Company. In 1664 Louis 

 XIV. granted all his land in America to the Company of the West Indies, 

 but their rights reverted to the Crown in 1674, after which date all 

 seigniories were granted by the representatives of the King at Quebec, 

 the Governor and Intendant, and were later confirmed by the King him- 

 self. This original grant by the authorities at Quebec, and its later con- 

 firmation by the King, gave origin to two distinct documents describing 

 each grant, and as these by no means always agree in details, much con- 

 fusion has arisen in connection with some of them ; and thus are explained 

 the discrepancies in different records describing the same seigniory. 



