necessary for the peace of the frontiers to check these habitual inroads, and I am happy to inform you that the object has been effected without the commission of any act of hostility.  Colonel Dodge and the troops under his command have acted with equal firmness and humanity, and an arrangement has been made with those Indians which it is hoped will assure their permanent pacific relations with the United States and the other tribes of Indians upon that border.  It is to be regretted that the prevalence of sickness in that quarter has deprived the country of a number of valuable lives, and particularly that General Leavenworth, an officer well known, and esteemed for his gallant services in the late war and for his subsequent good conduct, has fallen a victim to his zeal and exertions in the discharge of his duty.

The Army is in a high state of discipline.  Its moral condition, so far as that is known here, is good, and the various branches of the public service are carefully attended to.  It is amply sufficient under its present organization for providing the necessary garrisons for the seaboard and for the defense of the internal frontier, and also for preserving the elements of military knowledge and for keeping pace with those improvements which modern experience is continually making.  And these objects appear to me to embrace all the legitimate purposes for which a permanent military force should be maintained in our country.  The lessons of history teach us its danger and the tendency which exists to an increase.  This can be best met and averted by a just caution on the part of the public itself, and of those who represent them in Congress.

From the duties which devolve on the Engineer Department and upon the topographical engineers, a different organization seems to be demanded by the public interest, and I recommend the subject to your consideration.

No important change has during this season taken place in the condition of the Indians.  Arrangements are in progress for the removal of the Creeks, and will soon be for the removal of the Seminoles.  I regret that the Cherokees east of the Mississippi have not yet determined as a community to remove.  How long the personal causes which have heretofore retarded that ultimately inevitable measure will continue to operate I am unable to conjecture.  It is certain, however, that delay will bring with it accumulated evils which will render their condition more and more unpleasant.  The experience of every year adds to the conviction that emigration, and that alone, can preserve from destruction the remnant of the tribes yet living amongst us.  The facility with which the necessaries of life are procured and the treaty stipulations providing aid for the emigrant Indians in their agricultural pursuits and in the important concern of education, and their removal from those causes which have heretofore depressed all and destroyed many of the tribes, can not fail to stimulate their exertions and to reward their industry.