The Counter Revolution of June-July 21 



credentials, thus following the precedent set on June 30.^^ The 

 minority of the clergy had failed in their attempt to weaken the 

 national assembly by a decree which would have been contrary 

 to those of June 17 and June 23. It had also failed to show the 

 dependence of the assembly on the king. The Bulletins d'lin 

 agent secret state that these protests caused much dissatisfaction 

 in Paris where it was claimed that the question of a single as- 

 sembly had been decided for all time, both by deed and circum- 

 stance, and that there was to be " no more orders, no more rank, 

 no more distinction."^*' Protests presented by groups of nobles 

 on July 2^' and July 3^® and by groups of clergy on July i^° and 

 2,^°° and which related to the instructions of these gentlemen, 

 were treated by the assembly in the same way as the protests 

 which had been presented on June 30 ; that is they were to remain 

 in the hands of the secretaries until the credentials of these new 

 members had been verified. Thus while the nobles and the 

 clergy had cleared their consciences by protesting, nothing definite 

 was decided by the assembly regarding the protests. Although 

 these documents were allowed to be placed on the table, the 

 commons regarded them only as the acts of individuals. The 

 activity of the assembly was not suspended and the question was 

 permanently dropped. 



IV. 



A new justification for opposition to the assembly was however 

 found by clergy and nobility in the imperative instructions which 

 had been given to practically all the members of the privileged 

 orders. Not all the nobles and clergy had protested against the 

 single assembly, but if their instructions were to be obeyed, few 

 of the members of the upper orders could take part in a general 

 assembly. As this assembly was necessary to establish equality 



9^ Proccs-verbal, I, No. 12, 4 ; Biauzat, Sa vie et sa correspondance, II, 

 155; Asscmblcc nationale, I, 314; Bulletins de I'assemblee nationale, July 2. 

 96 Bulletins d'un agent secret, July 3. 

 9^ Proces-verhal, I, No. 12, 4. 

 98 Proces-verhal, I, No. 13, 10. 

 ^^Proccs-verbal, I, No. 11, 17. 

 100 Proccs-verbal, I, No. 12, 3. 



303 



