that the whole may ultimately die their only natural death in the land offices. See pages 193 and 194. To commence the building, and grant a lodging in the grand hospital of the federal city, for every remaining invalid who served faithfully for more than one year at any period of our revolutionary war;` and for such other military invalids as may be deemed proper subjects for this national charity, the duty of every government. To raise a sufficient number of artificers and engineers, to complete the road already ordered to facilitate a communication for the western country with the heart of the union; to direct that either the loan therefor, or the bills given the troops in payment, shall be received in the land offices, that thus the road may ultimately cost less than nothing. To erect, or at least to point out the place for the statue of 1783, and either to direct or permit the colleges of the university, founded by Washington, to commence around this statue after the manner of the Timoleonteon of Syracuse. Vide Plutarch's lives. A law giving the necessary lots to the Washington academy; and also an equivalent to its elder sisters, within the federal territory, the Columbian academy, and the Washington academy of Alexandria. To incorporate a company for bringing Mr. Jefferson's canal into the city, stating the number of shares the public will take therein. To take ****** shares in the Delaware and Chesapeake canal, and in every canal essential to perfect, in the most direct line, an inland navigation, co-extensive with the union; invaluable in time of war. To inquire into the elegibility of a canal communication between the eastern branch and the upper waters of the Chesapeake, to continue the Delaware and Chesapeake canal, to Washington. To revise the laws respecting the sales of public lands, and to inquire into the best modes for raising the price, and for facilitating the payment therefor in public certificates only. A law to augment the national library, for the benefit of the legis lature; Directing an additional number of maps to be purchased for the library; To procure a terrestrial globe of as large a size as the most appro-, priate room in the capitol will admit; To procure the original paintings of the principal battles in the revolutionary war, by colonel Trumbull; To procure the copies from correct portraits, of Warren, Greene, and the other principal revolutionary characters, now departed; and also of the presidents, since the new government. To secure more ground by exchange or purchase, for the navy yard at Washington. To commençe six 74 gun ships. To authorize a subscription of *** to a principal bank in each of the states. To authorize subscriptions to every turnpike road, that may be formed as radii from the center or heart of the union. Although it cannot be expected that all these laws will be enacted in one session, it may be well to have them always in view. It would be easy greatly to swell this list, but we fear it is hardly fair thus to anticipate all the good things we may expect from the spontaneous effusions of your patriotism. We therefore conclude, with a prayer only, that you will not forget to do enough of these to increase the medium in circulation, till there may be no just complaint against the government for personifying the character of Le Sages, Dr. San Grado, by a strange perversion of duty, in depleting instead of replenishing the veins of our infant commonwealth, at a time when its immensely rapid growth made their attention to invigorate their country, of primary importance: this is all we ask of heaven and you; and if we have in the least assisted you in our book, to find the rules by which you may be informed of your duty, in this instance we trust, we have done enough. We shall now proceed to tell you, that having taken infinite pains and trouble, from the year 1792 till 1796, in order to get the public lands raised to 2 dollars an acre, by an act of congress, and to counteract every attempt to reduce the price, or to divert the certificates of public debt from being received in the land offices, in exchange for acres, for reasons fully explained in this book, we have almost a quixotic attachment to the well digested and incontrovertible measure, to which we shall never cease to call your attention. As most of the members of congress to whom we communicated our ideas, from time to time, are still. alive, we have no occasion to be more explicit, being only anxious to protect the property of the commonwealth, and not to boast of merely doing what we conceive to be our duty therein. Will you! can you refuse to unite with us in such a cause? We hope, we believe not. We have now to commence on a sublime subject indeed! but yet of such latent importance, we cannot hope to do it justice. Time will unfold its beauties in all their splendor; while we can only speak of the bud of this flower of the universe. As the most minute circumstances are sometimes interesting for their relation to great events, we relate the first we ever heard of a national university: it was in the camp at Cambridge, in October 1775, when major William Blodget went to the quarters of general Washington, to complain of the ruinous state of the colleges, from the conduct of the militia quartered therein. The writer of this being in company with his friend and relation, and hearing general Greene join in lamenting the then ruinous state of the eldest seminary of Massachusetts, observed, merely to console the company of friends, that to make amends for these injuries, after our war, he hoped, we should erect a noble national university, at which the youth of all the world might be proud to receive instruction. What was thus pleasantly said, Washington immediately replied to, with that inimitably expressive and truly in teresting look, for which he was sometimes so remarkable: "Young man you are a prophet! inspired to speak, what I feel confident will one day be realized." He then detailed to the company his impressions, that all North America would one day become united; he said, that a colonel Byrd, of Virginia, he believed, was the first man who had pointed out the best central seat, near to the present spot, or about the falls of Potomack. General Washington further said, that a Mr. Evans had expressed the same opinion, with many other gentlemen, who from a cursory view cf a chart of North America, received this natural and truly correct impression. The look of general Washington, the energy of his mind, his noble and irresistable eloquence, all conspired, so far to impress the writer with these subjects, that if ever be should unfortunately become insane, it will be from his anxiety for the federal city and NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. From this time his thoughts and dreams were frequently interrupted by the subjects, and any chart of North America, was in luck, if it escaped the tracing, by penciled lines, a great road from the Pacific to Labradore, by the falls of Potomac; and also radii for the governmental main roads, from the center to every part of the union. He also calculated the time it would take on a good Roman turnpike road, for the members of the congress to obey a summons from the President, on any emergency, from either extreme of the union, and found it possible in 10, and probable in 14 days. This he conceived to be an important question, in relation to the elegibility of a union to be extended so far beyond any former republican system, except that of Rome. From the time of the first mention of a federal city, and a national university, till the present moment, every opportunity to expand the mind of the writer, has been eagerly embraced, as we hope will be shewn in due time. The opportunities for inquiry were but few; when an impaired state of health, originating in the army by the severity of the campaigns of 1775 to 1778, occasioned in 1784, a visit to Europe, where no time was lost to search for such information as was deemed worth transporting to America, particularly on the subjects abridged in this book. After a second visit to Europe, the writer returned in 1791, and informed President Washington of the plans he had attempted from the best points only of the ancient and modern cities of the old world, and adapted to his views for a federal HEART, Or CAPITOL, for his country. But his views for the university were what he most prized; designed in part at the Hague, and completed at Oxford, where he had all the universities of ancient and modern times to guide his pencil: from these he borrowed and rejected agreeably to the opinions of the best informed friends he could meet, in order that no childish bias for his own questionable taste might by any means prevent the final success of the important object in view. Previous to this interview with the president, that vigilant patriot had made up his mind, on sending an ingenious and skilful officer of the revolutionary war, to design a plan suited to the natural shapes of the selected spot. The plans of the writer were of course useless, as far as they respected the plotting of the city; 'they being suited to a plain only, and not so well calculated for the precsie spot, in his own estimation, as the magnificent design of L'Enfant, which, with a few deviations are now carrying into effect. The writer needed not the recommendation of his former commander, to persuade him to purchase, as he did in 1791, property to the amount of above 100,000 dollars, in, and adjoining the city, one day to become the noblest of the universe. Of the first purchase he made, he gave above 1,500 house lots to the United States, or one half of his property in common with the rest of the proprietors of the lands, on the site selected for the permanent seat of government. On the strength of the opinion of Washington, that the general government would see the true inter ests of the union in anticipating the ultimate value of the donation of above 12,000 lots by loans, for which the certificates bearing interest were to be received in the general lot office for the city, in exchange for lots belonging to the public, at a limited price for the minimum, above 500 lots were to be given away to the first improvers, and the rest sold at discretion by the commissioners, advancing on the fixed minimum pro rata with the growth of the city. But alas! who would have thought, that with the errors of Greece before our eyes, we should find an American congress unwilling to guarantee this important loan, to which the whole monied interest of Europe and America would willingly have subscribed, with such guarantee? But no one could believe that government were in earnest, after their unwillingness to do their duty in this instance was known. Then it was every where said, congress may reconsider their resolution and go somewhere else. The mischievous tendency of such shillishalli conduct on the part of the national legislature! is now obvious to all; but it was most se verely felt by those principally concerned in the soil, one half of which they had now given, or thrown away, in alternate lots, and thus ruined their farms, if the city should never be built. In this dog in the manger state, did government suffer their property (and that of the unoffending proprietors to remain,) even after they had sold a great number of lots at 2 to 500 dollars each, at auction. It would be difficult indeed to describe the feelings of THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY, at this critical juncture; although he foresaw that nothing short of a timely union of sentiment, on the subject of a federal HEART for the body politic, could save the commonwealth, he still expressed a belief that the same indulgent providence who had so far presided over our destinies, would one day teach us to "frown indignant upon the first dawnings of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which, now link together the various parts." (Washington's valedictory.) A continuation of these subjects are respectfully reserved for the APPENDIX, at the close of this book. 25 A BRIEF CHRONOLOGICAL DETAIL Of interesting facts relative to the discovery and progress of the American states. THE invaluable acquisition of the compass, by permitting a wider range to the enterprizing mariners of the fourteenth century, soon led to the discovery of many signs of a western continent. After many discouraging attempts to obtain assistance and patronage, COLUMBUS succeeded, under the patronage of ISABELLA, queen of Spain, in the year one thousand four hundred and fortynine. As the principal objects of this work will not admit of a minute detail, reference for particulars will of course be had to such historians as may be most eligible, or most agreeable to the readers. Soon after the discovery of Columbus, South America was visited by Americus Vespusius, from whom the continent unjustly took its name, And North America was seen by Cabot in, Florida was discovered in, 1497 1497 1512 Potatoes were first carried to Ireland from America in, 1565 1583 . Sir Walter Raleigh first obtained his patent for discoveries in 1584 New England first visited by captain Gosnold, Virginia and Newfoundland settled by the English in, Henry Hudson discovers the river in New York which bears his name, 1602 1608 1610 1614 1618 First importation of slaves to Virginia in a Dutch vessel, The same year convicts were first exported to Virginia, and sold as servants. The planters of Virginia receive, per invoice, a cargo of ninety young girls for wives, and for each pay 15 lbs. of tobacco, New Hampshire settled by an English colony, 1623 The island of Barbadoes, the first English settlement in the 1625 A colony of Swedes settled on Delaware river, Pennsylvania, in |