FISHERIES OF THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC 49 



with six arpents of land on each side of that river for the 

 building of the structures and ships necessary -to the estab- 

 lishment of the fishery ' ' which he is to commence next spring 

 with all the rights of fishing, hunting and trading with the 

 Indians on the extent of the said concession." In granting 

 this concession, the Governor of the Colony, the Marquis de 

 Denonville, declared that it was made in order to contribute 

 as much as possible to the establishment of the said fisheries, 

 and in consideration of the fact that they were the most ad- 

 vantageous propositions that could be made for the welfare 

 of the colony. 1 There is more information to be found in 

 the literature of New France concerning these early attempts 

 to establish permanent fishery settlements in Canada than 

 some historians seem to be aware of. 



LOUIS XIV. AND THE CANADIAN FISHERIES. 



No less prominent a personage than 

 Louis XIV. employed his influence 

 to further the success of Riverin's 

 efforts, if, indeed, he was not one of 

 the authors of the project. 



There is still in existence a "me- 

 moire du Sr du Riverin sur la 

 Pesche," written as early as 1685, a 

 portion of which reads as follows : 



"Fishing will not only be ad- 

 vantageous by the returns which it 

 will bring us from foreign countries, , 



but still more because it will afford 



occupation for youths who now waste much time, either in 

 idleness or in running the woods. It will train sailors and 

 navigators, who are to be regarded as the means of subsis- 

 tence to the other inhabitants of the country. Boston, and 

 the whole colony set us an example which is not creditable 

 to our nation, since it is growing every day by the fishing 



1 Registres d'Intendance. 



