"William Henry Harrison was clothed with power more nearly imperial than any ever exercised by one man in the Republic. He was authorized to adopt and publish such laws, civil and criminal, as were best adapted to the condition of the Territory; he could arbitrarily create townships and counties, and appoint civil officers, and militia officers under the grade of general. Most extaordinary of all, however, to him belonged the confirmation of an important class of land grants. In this regard his authority was absolute. Other approval or countersign was not required. The application was to him originally; his signature was the perfect evidence of title. When one thinks of the temptations to which he was subjected, and of the fortune he might have amassed, the fact that he issued from the trial poor, and without a taint upon his honor, must be regarded as creditable to him in the highest degree."
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