points and of preparing and collecting the supplies necessary for the
military defense of the country, and thus providently furnishing in
peace the means of defense in war, has been continued with the usual
results. I recommend to your consideration the various subjects
suggested in the report of the Secretary of War. Their adoption would
promote the public service and meliorate the condition of the Army.

Our relations with the various Indian tribes have been undisturbed
since the termination of the difficulties growing out of the hostile
aggressions of the Sac and Fox Indians. Several treaties have been
formed for the relinquishment of territory to the United States and
for the migration of the occupants of the region assigned for their
residence west of the Mississippi. Should these treaties be ratified by
the Senate, provision will have been made for the removal of almost all
the tribes now remaining east of that river and for the termination of
many difficult and embarrassing questions arising out of their anomalous
political condition. It is to be hoped that those portions of two of the
Southern tribes, which in that event will present the only remaining
difficulties, will realize the necessity of emigration, and will
speedily resort to it. My original convictions upon this subject have
been confirmed by the course of events for several years, and experience
is every day adding to their strength.

That those tribes can not exist surrounded by our settlements and in
continual contact with our citizens is certain. They have neither
the intelligence, the industry, the moral habits, nor the desire of
improvement which are essential to any favorable change in their
condition. Established in the midst of another and a superior race,
and without appreciating the causes of their inferiority or seeking to
control them, they must necessarily yield to the force of circumstances