(Journal des Débats et Décrets， p.743， Prairial， year III.) He returns from a mission to Landau and renders an account of the executions committed by the Jacobin agents in the Rhenish provinces. They levied taxes， sword in hand， and threatened the refractory with the guillotine at Strasbourg. The receipts which passed under the reporter's eyes "presented the sum of three millions three hundred and forty-five thousand seven hundred and eighty-five livres， two deniers， whilst our colleague， Cambon， reports only one hundred and thirty-eight thousand paid in."[114] Moniteur， XXII.， 754. (Report of Grégoire， Frimaire 24， year III.) "Rascallery - this word recalls the old revolutionary committees， most of which formed the scum of society and which showed so many aptitudes for the double function of robber and persecutor."[115] Archives Nationales， AF.， II.， 107. (Orders of Representatives Ysabeau and Tallien， Bordeaux， Brumaire 11 and 17， year II.) - Third order， promulgated by the same parties， Frimaire 2， year II.， replacing this committee by another of twelve members and six deputies， each at two hundred francs a month. Fourth order， Pluvi？se 16， year II.， dismissing the members of the foregoing committee， as exagérés and disobedient. It is because they regard their local royalty in quite a serious light.-Ibid.， AF.， II.， 46. ("Extracts from the minutes of the meetings of the revolutionary committee of Bordeaux，" Prairial， year II.) This extract， consisting of eighteen pages， shows in detail the inside workings of a revolutionary committee the number of arrested goes on increasing； on the 27th of Prairial there are 1524. The committee is essentially a police office； it delivers certificates of civism， issues warrants of arrest， corresponds with other committees， even very remote， at Limoges， and Clermont-Ferrand， delegates any of its members to make investigations or domicialiary searches， to affix seals， and it receives and transmits denunciations， summons the denounced to appear before it， reads interrogations， writes to the Committee of Public Safety， etc.
The following are samples of its warrants of arrest： "Muller， a riding-master， will be confined in the former Petit Seminaire， under suspicion of aristocracy， according to public opinion." - Another example， (Archives Nationales， F.7， 2475. Register of the procès-verbaux of the revolutionary committee of the Piques section， Paris， June 3， 1793.) Warrant of arrest against Boucher， grocer， rue Neuve du Luxembourg， "suspect" of incivisme and "having cherished wicked and perfidious intentions against his wife." Boucher， arrested， declares that， "what he said and did in his own house， concerned nobody but himself." On which he was led to prison.
[116] Archives Nationales， AF.， II.， 30 (No.105). Examination of Jean Davilliers， and other ransomed parties.
[117] Berryat Saint-Prix， 313. (Trial of Lacombe and his accomplices after Thermidor.)[118] Archives Nationales， AF.， II.， 46. (Letter of Julien to the Committee of Public Safety， Bordeaux， Messidor 12， year II.) -Moniteur， XXII.， 713. (Report by Cambon， Frimaire 6， year III.) At Verins， citizens were imprisoned and then set at liberty "on consideration of a fee." - Albert Babeau， II.， 164， 165， 206. (Report by Cambon， Frimaire 6， year II.) "Citoyenne (madame) Deguerrois， having come to procure the release of her husband， a public functionary demanded of her ten thousand livres， which he reduced to six thousand for doing what she desired." - "One document attests that Massey paid two thousand livres， and widow Delaporte six hundred livres， to get out of prison."[119] Mallet-Dupan， "First letter to a Genoa merchant，" (March I， 1796)， pp.33-35. "One of the wonders of the reign of Terror is the slight attention given to the trafficking in life and death， characteristic of terrorism. . . . We scarcely find a word on the countless bargains through which 'suspect' citizens bought themselves out of captivity， and imprisoned citizens bought off the guillotine.
. . . Dungeons and executions were as much matters of trade as the purchase of cattle at a fair." This traffic "was carried on in all the towns， bourgs and departments surrendered to the Convention and Revolutionary Committees." . . . . "It has been established since the 10th of August." "I will only cite among a multitude of instances the unfortunate Duc du Chatelet： never did anybody pay more for his execution！" - Wallon， "Histoire du Tribunal Revolutionnaire de Paris，"VI.， 88. (Denunciation of Fouquier-Tinville， signed Saulnie.)According to Saulnie he dined regularly twice a week at No 6 rue Serpente， with one Demay， calling himself a lawyer and living with a woman named Martin. In this death-trap， in the middle of orgies， the freedom or death of those in prison was bargained for in money with impunity. One head alone， belonging to the house of Boufflers， escaping the scaffold through the intrigues of these vampires， was worth to them thirty thousand livres， of which one thousand were paid down and a bond given for the rest， payable on being set at liberty.