The Counter Revolution of June-July 97 



concerned the administration and suggested that he should give 

 his information to Necker.^*'^ Duquesnoy^ who was a member of 

 the committee on subsistence, throws some light on the situation. 

 " The Chevalier de Rutledge," he wrote, " so well known for his 

 immorality and fiery spirit, entered with the bakers. This privi- 

 lege was given to him only after the committee had made him 

 promise to report exact facts and to sign everything he might say. 

 Far from keeping his word he lost himself in vague declamations, 

 in ridiculous denunciations against the Compagnie Leleu, against 

 parliament and against the lieutenant of police. I can not even 

 say that, in spite of his declarations of beautiful sentiments for 

 M. Necker, there was not in his immense discourse some perverse 

 sentiments against this minister. The Chevalier de Rutledge pre- 

 tends that the bakers addressed Necker many times and that they 

 had never been received although they announced that they had 

 some definite plans to present to him. It has seemed very clear 

 to me that this man was only an adventurer who has placed him- 

 self at the head of some bakers, in order to have the satisfaction 

 of declaiming, accusing, and injuring all those who displeased him; 

 either the Chevalier de Rutledge is a man paid by the enemies of 

 the public or he is a fool whose hot head might lead the people 

 to the greatest excesses. I do not know, but it seems to me that it 

 is because of such talk that the home of Reveillon was burned." 

 Duquesnoy asserts that M. Rutledge asked the committee to 

 give an immediate reply, but that as soon as Rutledge left the 

 room the Due d'Aiguillon asked that no answer should be given. 

 Another member of the committee, evidently Duquesnoy, after 

 showing how little confidence such a man merited, added that 

 having been received Rutledge had the " right to ask a reply, that, 

 moreover, there was danger in sending such a man away without 

 an answer, but that, once for all, he asked that the committee 

 should not consider these miserable details, which were put for- 

 ward by evil intentioned people, enemies of the public good who 



468 Proces-vcrbal, I, No. 17, 2 ; Assemhlee nationale, I, 370 ; Journal de 

 Paris, No. 190, 855 (July 9), says: " Vraisemblablement cet objet des sub- 

 sistances n'occupera plus desormais que le comite qui en porte le nom " ; 

 Bulletins de I'assemblce nationale, July 7. 



379 



