Courcelle was certainly mistaken in supposing that the
council's decision was an encroachment on his authority.
The superior jurisdiction in judicial matters belonged
to the intendant. Under his commission he had the right
to 'judge alone and with full jurisdiction in civil
matters,' to 'hear all cases of crimes and misdemeanours,
abuse and malversation, by whomsoever committed,' to
'proceed against all persons guilty of any crime, whatever
might be their quality or condition, to pursue the
proceedings until final completion, judgment and execution
thereof.' Nevertheless, in practice and with due regard
to the good administration of justice, the council's
decree went perhaps too far. The question remained in
abeyance and was not settled until four years afterwards,
at the end of Talon's second term in Canada. He had
written to Colbert on the subject stating that he would
be glad to be discharged of the judicial responsibility,
and to see the question of initiating lawsuits referred
to the Sovereign Council.

As a matter of fact [he said], receiving the petitions
for entering lawsuits does not mean retaining them
before myself. I have not judged twenty cases, civil
or criminal, since I came here, having always tried
as much as I could to conciliate the opposing parties.
The reason why I speak now of this matter is that very
often, for twenty or thirty livres of principal, a
plaintiff goes before the judge of first instance--which
diverts the parties from the proper cultivation of
their farms--and later on, by way of an appeal, before