  We present the Democratic Samples of Supernovae (DSS), a compilation of 775
low-redshift Type Ia and II supernovae (SNe Ia & II), of which 137 SN Ia
distances are derived via the newly developed snapshot distance method. Using
the objects in the DSS as tracers of the peculiar-velocity field, we compare
against the corresponding reconstruction from the 2M++ galaxy redshift survey.
Our analysis -- which takes special care to properly weight each DSS
subcatalogue and cross-calibrate the relative distance scales between them --
results in a measurement of the cosmological parameter combination $f\sigma_8 =
0.390_{-0.022}^{+0.022}$ as well as an external bulk flow velocity of
$195_{-23}^{+22}$ km s$^{-1}$ in the direction $(\ell, b) = (292_{-7}^{+7},
-6_{-4}^{+5})$ deg, which originates from beyond the 2M++ reconstruction.
Similarly, we find a bulk flow of $245_{-31}^{+32}$ km s$^{-1}$ toward $(\ell,
b) = (294_{-7}^{+7}, 3_{-5}^{+6})$ deg on a scale of $\sim 30 h^{-1}$ Mpc if we
ignore the reconstructed peculiar-velocity field altogether. Our constraint on
$f\sigma_8$ -- the tightest derived from SNe to date (considering only
statistical error bars), and the only one to utilise SNe II -- is broadly
consistent with other results from the literature. We intend for our data
accumulation and treatment techniques to become the prototype for future
studies that will exploit the unprecedented data volume from upcoming
wide-field surveys.
