'What good will the departments do you， let loose against each other， after you are out of the way？' " (was the imaginary Jacobin reply！)No summary could be more exact nor any prediction more accurately based. Henceforth， and by virtue of the Convention's own decrees， not only have the Jacobins the whole of the executive power in their hands， as this is found in civilized countries， but likewise the discretionary power of the antique tyrant or modern pasha， that arbitrary， strong arm which， singling out the individual， falls upon him and takes from him his arms， his freedom， and his money. After the 28th of March， we see in Paris a resumption of the system which， instituted by the 10th of August， was completed by the 2nd of September. In the morning， drums beat to arms； at noon， the barriers are shut， the bridges and passages guarded， and sentinels stand on the corners of the streets； no one is allowed "to pass outside the limits of his section，" or circulate within them without showing his certificate of civism； houses are invested， numbers of persons are arrested，[79] and， during the succeeding months， this operation is carried on under the sway of the Committee of Supervision. Now， this Committee， in almost all the sections， "is made up of sans-culottes，"not fathers of families， men of judgment and experience， people living a long time in the quarter， but "strangers， or young men trying to be something，"[80] ambitious underlings， ignorant daredevils， despotic intruders， fierce， touchy and inexperienced inquisitors".
The first thing is the disarmament of the suspected. "It is enough that any citizen shall be denounced， and that the case is made known to the Committee"；[81] or that his certificate of civism is less than one month old，[82] to make a delegate， accompanied by ten armed men， search his house. In the section of the Réunion alone， on the first day， 57 denounced persons are thus disarmed for "acts of incivism or expressions adverse to the Republic，" not merely lawyers， notaries， architects， and other prominent men， but petty tradesmen and shop-keepers， hatters， dyers， locksmiths， mechanics， gilders， and bar-keepers. One section； in defiance of the law， adds to these in block the signers of the petition of the eight thousand and that of the twenty thousand. "Through such schemes，" says an observer，[83] "all the guns in Paris， numbering more than a hundred thousand， pass into the hands of the faction. None remain for its adversaries， even in the gunshops； for， through an ordinance of the Commune， no one may purchase a gun without a certificate issued by the Committee of Supervision of the section.[84] -- On the other hand， owing to the power of granting or refusing certificates of civism， each Committee， on its own authority， interposes barriers as it pleases in all directions， public or private， to every inhabitant within its bounds.
It is impossible for any person who has not obtained his certificate[85] to have a passport for traveling， although a tradesman； no public employee， no clerk of the administration， advocate or notary can keep his place without it； no one can go out of Paris or return late at night. If one goes out to take a walk， there is danger of being arrested and brought back between two soldiers to the committee of the section； if one stays at home， it is with the chance of being inspected as a harbourer of priests or nobles. Any Parisian opening his windows in the morning may find his house surrounded by a company of carmagnoles， if he has not the indispensable certificate in his pocket.[86] In the eyes of a Jacobin committee， there is no civism but in Jacobinism， and we can imagine whether this patent would be willingly conferred on opponents， or even on the lukewarm； what examinations they would have to undergo； what questions they would be obliged to answer； how many goings and comings， solicitations， appearances and waitings would be imposed on them； with what persistency it would excite delay， and with what satisfaction it would be refused. Buzot presented himself four times at the Committee of Quatre-Nations to obtain a certificate for his domestic， and failed to get it.[87] There is another still more effective expedient for keeping the ill-disposed in check The committee of each section， aided by a member of the Commune，[88]
designates the twelve thousand men drafted for the expedition into La Vendée， and picks them by name， one by one， as it may select them； the effect of this is to purge Paris of twelve thousand anti-Jacobins， and tranquilize the section assemblies， where opposition is often objectionable. To this end the committee selects first， and gives the preference to， the clerks of lawyers and notaries， those of banking-houses， the administration， and of merchants， the unmarried in all offices and counting-rooms， in short， all the Parisian middle class bachelors， of which there are more than twenty-five thousand.[89] The ordinance stipulates that one out of two should be taken， undoubtedly those with the poorest reputation with the Committee， this proceeding will silence the others and prevent them from speaking up in their sections.[90]