ever; the tithes were levied only on grain, as they are
still levied in the province of Quebec, on all lands
owned by Catholics. But it is interesting to know as a
matter of history that the two litigant priests were
right. Had the original ordinance been before the council,
it would have been found to enact the levying of tithes
not on grain alone but on 'all that the soil grows
naturally or by man's labour.' An authentic copy of this
ordinance was discovered in our day, nearly two centuries
after the lawsuit of 1705, and it bears out the plea of
the two priests.

Another feature of Talon's relations with the clergy and
religious communities--and a pleasant one this time--was
his strong interest in the francisation (Frenchification)
of the Indians. It was Colbert's wish that efforts be
made to bring the Algonquins, Hurons, and other Indians
more closely within the fold of European civilization--to
make them alter their manners, learn the French tongue,
and become less Indian and more European in their way of
life. Talon was of the same mind and lost no opportunity
of impressing the idea on those who could best do the
work. Laval had already been active in the same direction,
and had founded the Quebec Seminary partly with this end
in view. The great bishop thought that one of the best
means of civilizing the Indians would be to bring up
Indian and French children together. So he withdrew from
the Jesuits' College a number of pupils whom he had
previously placed there and established them, with a few
young Indians, in a house bought for the purpose. Such