Deputy to the Legislative Assembly, he asked Roume to allow him to go to France and take his seat in that body.
The departure of Rigaud would have removed many difficulties; it would have satisfied Toussaint's ambition for the time being; all power would be his in the colony. All cause of conflict between the natives of Saint-Domingue would thus have disappeared. Knowing as he did the misunderstanding which, since Hédouville's letter, existed between Toussaint and Rigaud, Roume was in duty bound to accept the latter 's resignation. However, he refused it. The policy of France aimed at that time to divide the blacks and the mulattoes in order to be able to restore the supremacy of the whites by subduing each of them individually. Roume, who was cognizant of the ulterior designs of the Directory, was determined to do his utmost to provoke and keep up the mistrust existing between the two parties. He persisted in refusing to accept the resignation which Rigaud again made to him, and he succeeded in deciding him not only to remain in Saint-Domingue but also caused a weakening of his authority by transferring the command of Grand-Goave and Petit-Goave to Laplume. This arrangement did not meet with Toussaint Louverture's full approval, as it still left his rival with a great deal of influence, whereas it was his wish to get him out of the colony. To bring about this end, he determined to avail himself of the first opportunity to make a rupture inevitable. As the consequence of a riot which occurred at Corail, thirty of the malcontents, twenty-nine of whom were black and one white, were imprisoned in the jail of Jérémie; they died from asphyxiation. Whilst this was taking place Rigaud was at Petit-Goave, on his way to Cayes. Upon learning of this unfortunate occurrence Toussaint Louverture, then in Port-au-Prince (February 21, 1799), treated it as a matter of the greatest importance. The drummers went through the streets beating "La Générale"; the whole population was summoned to the cathedral. From the pulpit Toussaint denounced Rigaud as the enemy
