428 THE HILL Of FREEDOM* 



to the nation, and to the world, the purest specimen of govern* 

 ment, vindicating the superior excellence of free institutions ; 

 that, as we are here establishing a city, ( Washington,) in- 

 tended as the perpetual Capital of a great Republic, it is due 

 to Ourselves, and to Posterity, that the foundations thereof be 

 laid in wisdom, and that no fundamental evils in the structure 

 of its policy be permitted to take root, which might become 

 inveterate by time, but which prudent and timely policy may 

 eradicate. 



We turn from the unfruitful efforts of the intelli- 

 gent and benevolent in America to the speech of Don 

 Manuel Lorenzo de Vidaurre^ Minister from Peru at the 

 opening of the American Congress at Panama, on the 22d 

 of June, 1826. Here shall we find sentiments in accordance 

 with the times and with truth; after expatiating on various 

 interesting topics, he thus alludes to the Slave. 



" Let," said he, "the sad and abject countenance of the 

 poor African, bending under the chains of rapacity and 

 oppression, no longer be seen in these climes; let him be 

 endowed with equal privileges with the white man, whose 

 colour he has been taught to regard as a badge of su- 

 periority; let him, in learning that he is not distinct from 

 other men, learn to become a rational being." 



To such efforts and such sentiments as these, who does 

 not wish success? 



