cherish it, too, for the sake of those who, from every clime,
are daily seeking a dwelling in our land. And when in the calm moments
of reflection they shall have retraced the origin and progress of the
insurrection, let them determine whether it has not been fomented by
combinations of men who, careless of consequences and disregarding the
unerring truth that those who rouse can not always appease a civil
convulsion, have disseminated, from an ignorance or perversion of facts,
suspicions, jealousies, and accusations of the whole Government.

Having thus fulfilled the engagement which I took when I entered into
office, "to the best of my ability to preserve, protect, and defend the
Constitution of the United States," on you, gentlemen, and the people
by whom you are deputed, I rely for support.

In the arrangements to which the possibility of a similar contingency
will naturally draw your attention it ought not to be forgotten that the
militia laws have exhibited such striking defects as could not have been
supplied but by the zeal of our citizens, Besides the extraordinary
expense and waste, which are not the least of the defects, every appeal
to those laws is attended with a doubt on its success.

The devising and establishing of a well-regulated militia would be
a genuine source of legislative honor and a perfect title to public
gratitude. I therefore entertain a hope that the present session will
not pass without carrying to its full energy the power of organizing,
arming, and disciplining the militia, and thus providing, in the
language of the Constitution, for calling them forth to execute the
laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions.

As auxiliary to the state of our defense, to which Congress can never
too frequently recur, they will not omit to inquire whether the
fortifications which have been already licensed by law be commensurate
with our exigencies.

The intelligence from the army under the command of General Wayne is a
happy presage to our military operations against the hostile Indians
north of the Ohio. From the advices which have been forwarded, the
advance which he has made must have damped the ardor of the savages and
weakened their obstinacy in waging war against the United States, And
yet, even at this late hour, when our power to punish them can not be
questioned, we shall not be unwilling to cement a lasting peace upon
terms of candor, equity, and good neighborhood.