2 2 IV. B. hhmro average term of tenure was about eight and one-half years/ Some of them might have remained in ofifice longer had they so desired — as, for example, Talon or Raudot ; others, as Duchesneau and Dupuy, were recalled by the king because of some dissatisfaction with their work in ofifice. In every case the intendant was sent out from France : no col- onial was ever named to the post.- The ofifice does not seem to have been regarded as a lucrative or an agreeable one, for the work was heavy and the responsibilities were great. The remuneration too was so ridiculously small — usually twelve thousand livres per year — that various intendants complained bitterly of their inability to make both ends meet on this allowance, especially in view of the high cost of living at Quebec.' Down to 1685 the intendant pro- vided his own living quarters, and usually transacted his official business in the council-room at the palace of the governor; but this arrangement was so unsatisfactory that, at the urgent solicita- tion of Meulles in 1685, the king furnished funds with which the intendant might secure quarters of his own. A large building which had been originally built by Talon as a brewery was accordingly purchased, and, after being partly rebuilt, was called by the preten- tious name of Palais de Justice. Henceforth the intendants lived in this roomy structure, and here the council usually held its sessions. The abundant opportunities which the intendants had of supple- menting their meagre stipend by private trade was naturally a severe tax upon their integrity. Most of them, however, seem to have looked upon the colonial post as a stepping-stone to something bet- ter at home, and consequently strove so to conduct themselves as to win the favor and reward of the crown. In this hope those who served the king well were not disappointed: Begon was promoted to the intendancy at Havre in 1724, Hocquart to the same post at Brest in 1749, and several others were continued in the royal ser- vice after their return to France. Without exception the intendants of New France were men who had served their king in some civil capacity before coming to ' During the same period there were twelve governors, with terms ranging from three to twenty-three years. - Of the governors only one, Vaudreuil de Cavagnal, was born in Canada. Most of the minor positions, however, were given to residents of the colony. ^ The remuneration was not fixed in a lump sum, but was made up of different items.
- The building was burned in 1713, but was promptly rebuilt. The king sent
Begon three thousand livres to recompense him for personal losses sustained in the fire. 5 Regis Roy, " Les Intendants de la Nouvelle-France : Notes sur leurs Families", in Societe Royale du Canada, Mcmoircs, 2e Serie. IX. 63-107.
