To this communication the Secretary of War replied: "In the present stage of our relations with the Indians residing within the States and Territories east of the Mississippi, including the Seminoles, it is useless to recur to the principles and motives which induced the Government to determine their removal to the West. The acts of the Executive, and the laws of Congress, evince a determination to carry out the measure, and it is to be regarded as the settled policy of the country. In pursuance of this policy, the treaty of Payne's Landing was made with the Seminoles; and the character of the officer employed on the part of the Government is a guarantee of the perfectly fair manner in which that negotiation was conducted and concluded. Whether the Government ought not to have waited until the Seminoles were pressed upon by the white population, and their lands become necessary to the agricultural wants of the community, is not a question for the Executive now to consider. The treaty has been ratified, and is the law of the land; and the constitutional duty of the President requires that he should cause it to be executed. I cannot, therefore, authorize any arrangement with the Seminoles by which they will be permitted to remain, or assign them any portion of the Territory of Florida as their future residence." "The Department indulged the hope, that, with the extensive means placed at your disposal, the war by a vigorous effort might be brought to a close this campaign. If, however, you are of opinion that, from the nature of the country and the character of the enemy, such a result is impracticable, and that it is advisable to make a temporary arrangement with the Seminoles, by which the safety of the settlements and posts will be secured throughout the summer, you are at liberty to do so."