'52 
TRAVELS THROUGH NORTH AMERICA : 
the part of all the states. Pennsylvania, in 
particular, conscious of her being a principal 
and central state, and therefore likely to be 
made the seat of government if this new pro-' 
ject was not carried into execution, was fore¬ 
most in the opposition. At last she complied ; 
but it was only on condition that the congress 
should meet at Philadelphia until the new city 
was .ready for its reception, flattering herself 
that there would be so many objections after¬ 
wards to the removal of the seat of government, 
and so many difficulties in putting the pro¬ 
ject in^o execution, that it would finally be re¬ 
linquished. To the discriminating; iudgjment 
of General Washington, then president, it was 
left to determine upon the spot best calculated 
for the federal city. After mature deliberation 
lie fixed upon a situation on the banks of the 
Patowmac river, a situation which seems to 
be marked out by nature, not only for a large 
city, but expressly for the seat of the metro¬ 
polis of the United States. 
In the choice of the spot, there were two 
principal considerations : First, that it should 
be as central as possible in respect to every 
state in the union ; secondly, that it should be 
advantageously situated for commerce, without 
which it could not be expected that the city 
would ever be distinguished for size or for 
splendour; and it was to be supposed, that 
