While the Council had to execute the King's administrative policies, it was often able to act independently given the geographic expanse of New France and its distance from metropolitan France. For example, the Sovereign Council allowed seigneurs to extract undue feudal tithes from peasants, which ran contrary to the "Coutume de Paris" until Louis XIV intervened and abolished the practice in 1717. The Sovereign Council undertook other policies aimed at the maintenance of public order with mixed success. A 1663 ordinance mandated the collection of extra food and clothing to distribute amongst the poor as part of an effort to mitigate social unrest. A 1668 edict established commissions distinguishing between the deserving poor and the undeserving poor. This notion that the deserving poor were worthy of local, parish-administered aid while the undeserving poor were destitute law-breakers was common in metropolitan France and Western Europe at the time. Reflecting colonial society's emphasis on righteousness and morality, the Sovereign Council mandated that every tavern-keeper provide sufficient proof of his virtuous character in order to obtain a business licence.