CITY OF WASHINGTON. 
51 
freedom of deliberation, upon the good or bad 
police of any individual state. This idea of 
making the place, which should be chosen for 
the meeting of the legislature, independent of 
the particular state to which it might belong, 
was further corroborated by the following ar¬ 
gument : That as the several states in the 
union were in some measure rivals toeach other, 
although connected together by certain ties, if 
any one of them was fixed upon for the seat of 
•the general government in preference, and thus 
raised to a state of pre-eminence, it might per¬ 
haps be the occasion of great jealousy amongst 
the others. Every person was convinced of the 
expediency of preserving the union of the states 
entire ; it was apparent, therefore, that the 
greatest precautions ought to be taken to 
remove every source of jealousy from amongst 
them, which might tend, though remotely, to 
produce a separation. In fine it was absolutely 
necessary that the seat of government should be 
made permanent, as the removal of the public* 
offices, and the archives from place to place, 
could not but be attended with many and very 
great inconveniences. 
However, notwithstanding’ this measure ap¬ 
peared to be beneficial to the interest of the 
union at large, it was not until after the revo¬ 
lution, by which the present federal constitu- 
was established, that it was acceded to on 
