The Convention had voted， on principle， for the establishment of a military departmental guard， but， owing to the opposition of the Montagnards， it fails to put the principle into operation. -- For six months it is protected， and， on the 10th of March， saved， through the spontaneous aid of provincial federates， but， far from organizing these passing auxiliaries into a permanent body of faithful defenders， it allows them to be dispersed or corrupted by Pache and the Jacobins.
-- It passes decrees frequently for the punishment of the abettors of the September crime， but， on their menacing petition， the trials are indefinitely postponed.[61] -- It has summoned to its bar Fournier， Lazowski， Deffieux， and other leaders， who， on the 10th of March， were disposed to throw it out of the windows， but， on making their impudent apology， it sends them away acquitted， free， and ready to begin over again.[62] At the War Department it raises up in turn two cunning Jacobins， Pache and Bouchotte， who are to work against it unceasingly.
At the Department of the Interior it allows the fall of its firmest support， Roland， and appoints Garat in his place， an ideologist， whose mind， composed of glittering generalities， with a character made up of contradictory inclinations， fritters itself away in reticences， in falsehoods and in half-way treachery， under the burden of his too onerous duties. -- It votes the murder of the King， which places an insurmountable barrier of blood between it and all honest persons. --It plunges the nation into a war in behalf of principles，[63] and excites an European league against France， which league， in transferring the perils arising from the September crime to the frontier， permanently establishes the September régime in the interior. -- It forges in advance the vilest instruments of the forthcoming Reign of Terror，* through the decree which establishes the revolutionary tribune， with Fouquier-Tinville as public prosecutor， and the obligation for each juryman to utter his verdict aloud；[64]
* through the decree condemning every émigré to civil death， and the confiscation of his property "of either sex，" even a simple fugitive， even returned within six months；[65]
* through the decree which "outlaws aristocrats and enemies of the Revolution"；[66]
* through the decree which， in each commune， establishes a tax on the wealth of the commune in order to adapt the price of bread to wages；[67]
* through the decree which subjects every bag of grain to declaration and to the maximum (price conrol)；[68]
* through the decree which awards six years in irons for any traffic in the currency；[69]
* through the decree which orders a forced loan of a billion， extorted from the rich；[70]
* through the decree which raises in each town a paid army of sans-culottes "to hold aristocrats under their pikes "[71] and at last，* through the decree which， instituting the Committee of Public Safety，[72] fashions a central motor to set these sharp scythes agoing and mow down fortunes and lives with the utmost rapidity. -To these engines of general destruction it adds one more， which is special and operates against itself. Not only does it furnish its rivals of the Commune with the millions they need to pay their bands；not only does it advance to the different sections，[73] in the form of a loan， the hundreds of thousands of francs which are needed to satisfy the thirst of their yelpers； but again， at the end of March， just at the moment when it happens to escape the first Jacobin invasion， it provides for the election by each section of a Committee of Supervision， authorized to make domiciliary visits and to disarm the suspected；[74] it allows this committee to make arrests and inflict special taxes； to facilitate its operations it orders a list of the inmates of each house， legibly "stating names， surnames， ages and professions，" to be affixed to the entrance，[75] a copy of which must be left with the committee， and which is subject to its control.
To end the matter， it submits itself； and， "regardless of the inviolability of a representative of the French nation，"[76] it decides that， in case of political denunciation， its own members may be brought to trial.
V.Jacobin violence against the people.
Committees of Supervision after March 28， 1793. - The régime of August and September， 1792， revived. - Disarmament. - Certificates of civism.
- Forced enlistment. - Forced loans. - Use made of the sums raised. -Vain resistance of the population. - Manifestations by young men repressed. - Violence and victory of the Jacobins in the assemblies of the sections.
"I seem to hear you，" writes a sarcastic observer，[77] "addressing the (Jacobin) faction in these terms：
'Now， look here， we have the means， but we are not disposed to make use of them against you； it would be unfair to attack you unarmed.
Public power emanates from two sources， legal authority and armed force. Now we will at once create committees of supervision， of which you shall appoint the heads， for the reason that， with a whip of this kind， you can lash every honest man in Paris， and thus regulate public opinion. We will do more than this， because our sacrifice is not yet complete； we are disposed to make you a present of our armed force， with authority to disarm anybody that you may suspect. As far as we are concerned， we are ready to surrender even our pocketknives，[78]
and remain apart， content with our virtues and talents. -- But mind what you are about. Should you be so ungrateful as to attack our sacred persons， we shall find avengers in the departments.'