Note 93 — Chapter XV

Etienne Pézard de la Touche never acted as governor of Montreal owing to the rigorous protestations raised by the Seigneurs of the island. M. de la Touche seems to have arrived in Canada in 1661 and by the 10th of October of that year he is to be found acting as lieutenant of the garrison of Three Rivers, in which locality he remained till 1664, when he became a captain. On June 20th he married Madeleine Mulois de la Borde and M. de Maisonneuve as governor assisted at the ceremony. On the same day or the next by a curious irony of fate there is found the nomination of the newly married captain, dated from Quebec, as Maisonneuve's successor. When the news became known at Montreal it was looked upon by the governor general de Mésy as an arrogation of the powers of the Seigneurs of Montreal, and an attempt on the part of the recently created Sovereign Council to test its jurisdiction over Montreal. The triumph of the seigneurs was evident, for on July 23d following, de Maisonneuve was accorded by the sovereign council his emoluments for the upkeep of the garrison for the current year, and on July 28th is found as governor granting a new concession of land, a practice he continued till May, 1665. On the other hand, on July 23d, de la Touche is recorded as in charge of the accounts of the garrison of Three Rivers. On August 8th M. de Mésy apparently by way of a consolation accorded him the seigneury of Batiscan and of Cap de la Madeleine, and the new seigneur busied himself in his new position. Meanwhile de Maisonneuve's days were numbered. (Cf. Canadian Antiquarian and Numismatic Journal, 1914, No. 2, article by E. Z. Massicotte.)