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Show 6 TRAVELS TIIROUGH NORTI-l AMTIRICA: congrefs of the United States tneets to trantttl: bufinefs. The rootn allo~tcd to the reprefentativcs of the lower houfe is about fixty feet in length, and fitted up in the plaincfl: n1anncr. At one end of it is a gallery, open to every perfon that chufes to enter it; the ib.ir-cafe leading to which runs direCtly frmn the public ftreet. 1'he fenatc chamber is in the flory above this, and it is furniilicd and .fitted up in a much fuperior i1:ylc to that of the lower houfe. In the city hall the courts of jufl:ice are held, the fuprcme court of the United States, as well as that of the fiate of Pennfylvania, ~nd thofc of the city. The prefident' s houfc, as it is called, was erected for the refidence of the preiident, before the removal of the feat of the federal government from Philadelphia was agitated. The original plan of this building was drawn by a private gentleman, refident in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia, and was pofiefltd, it is fa id, of no finall {hart; of n1erit; but the committee of citizens, that was appointed to take the plan into confideration, and to direfr the building, conceiving that it could be itnprovcd upon, reverfed the pofitions of the upper and lower fiories, placing the latter at top, fo that the pilafters, with which it is ornan1ented, appear fufpended in the air. The con1mittee alfo contrived, that the windows of the principal apartments, inftead of opening into a fpacious area in front of the houfc, as was defigned at firfi, ilioulcl face towards the confined back yards of the adjoining houfes. This building is not yet finiil1ed, and as the removal of the feat of government to the federal city of Wafl1ington is fo ihortly to take place, it is tnofi probable that it will never be occupied by the prefident. To what purpofe it will be now applied is yet undetermined. Son1e imagine, that it will be converted into a city hotel; others, that it will be dcfl:ined for the refidcnce of the governor of the fl:ate. For the latter purpofe, it would be unfit in the extreme, the fitlary of the governor being fo intonfiderable, that it would not enable hirn to keep up an eftablilhment fuitable to a dwelling of one-fourth part the fjze of it. The hofpital, for its airinefs, for its convenient accomrnodation for t11c lick and infirm, and for the neatnefs exhibited throughout every part of it, cannot be furpaifed by any inil:itution of the kind in the world. The plan of the building is in the form of the letter H. At prefent but one . w1ng P II I L A D E L P H I A. wing and a part of the center are fin iilicd; but the rei1: of the building. is jn a ilate of forwardnefs. It is two fiories high, and underneath the whole are cells for luna tics. Perfons labourin ~; under ~ny difordcr of body or tnind are received into this hofpita1, cx'·epting fuch as h ·lVe difcaies that are contc1gious, and of a malignant nature; fuch patients, however, have the advice of the attcnuing phyficians gratis, and arc [upplied with n1edicine frorn the hofpital difpcnfary. The produCtive fiock of this hofpital, in the year 179 3, was efii-tnatcd [,. 17,06 5 currency; be fides which there arc e!lates belonging to it that as yet produce nothing. The fame year, the legiflaturc granted £. 1 o,ooo for enlarging the building, and adding thereto a Lyjng-in and Foundling hofpital. 'I'he annual private donations are very confidcrablc. T'hofc that contribute a certain fum have the power of elcB:ing the di-. reCtors, who arc t'vcl ve in number, and chofcn yearly. The directors ap4 point fix of the n1oft ik.ilful furgeons and phyficians in the city to attend; there is alfo a fnrgeon and apothecary refident in the houfe. Fro~ the year 17 56, when it was built, to tlle year I 791 inclufi ve, nearly 9,000 patients were admitted into this hofpita1, upwards of 6,ooo of whorn were relieved or cured. The hofpit1l il:ands within the limits of the city~ but it is more than a quarter of a mile removed frotn any of the other buildings. There are fpacious walks within the inclofure for fuch of the patients as are in a fiate of convalefcencc. The Bettering Houfc, which is under the care of the overfeers of the poor, fiands in the fan1e neighbourhood, fotnewhat farther removed from the houfes of the city. 1 t is a fpac.ious building of brick, with extenfive walks and gardens. The poor of the city and neighbourhood are here furniilied with employment, and comfortably lodged and dieted. ' During the feverity of the winter fcafon, many aged and reduced perfons feek refuge in this place, and leave it again on the return of fpring. WhiJft they i1:ay there,. they are under very little rcftraint, ~nd go in and out when they pleafc; they muft, however, behave orderly. rfhis infiitution is fupported by a tax on the town. The gaol is a fpacious building of common i1:one, one hundred feet iB front. It is fitted up with folitnry cells, on the new plan, and the apartments |