gistrates have been elected by the suffrage of the people, but not one
of the Ottoman families remains in. One Mr. Miliet, Mr. Henry, Mr.
Bagargon, Capt. Johnson, and Capt. Dalton, have been elected. You will be
surprised to see Dalton in office; but I found that he had too many
friends to refuse him. I keep a watch-side eye over him, and find that he
conducts himself with great propriety."(120)

The relief afforded by the new court was not complete, for soon came the
report: "The people are very impatient to see Gen. St. Clair or some of
the judges; in fact, they are very much wanted."(121) The term of the
members of the court expired in April, 1789, and no new members were
elected, because the early arrival of Gen. St. Clair was expected.(122) An
interregnum occurred, and in November, 1789, Hamtramck wrote to Harmar:
"It is high time that government should take place in this country, and if
it should happen that the Governor was not to come, nor any of the Judges,
I would beg (for the sake of the people) that his Excellency would give me
certain powers to create magistrates, a Sheriff and other officers, for
the purpose of establishing Courts of Justice--for, at present, there are
none, owing to the daily expectation of the arrival of the Governor. Those
that had been appointed by the people last year, their authority has been
refused in the courts of Kentucky, they declaring that by the resolve of
Congress, neither the people of Post Vincennes, or the commanding officer,
had a right to appoint magistrates; that the power was vested in the
Governor only, and that it was an usurped authority. You see, Sir, how
much to the prejudice of the people their present situation is, and how
necessary it is that some steps should be taken to relieve them.

"The powers of the magistrates may be circumscribed as his Excellency may
think proper, but the necessity of having such characters will appear when
I assure you that at present no person here, can administer an oath which
will be considered legal in the courts of Kentucky--and for the reasons
above mentioned."(123)

At last, on June 19, 1790, the judges for the Northwest Territory arrived
at Vincennes.(124)

The situation at Kaskaskia was even worse than that at Vincennes, because
Vincennes had a garrison. To understand the complaints of the time, it is
necessary to notice the relations with Spain. On the first day of 1788,
Hamtramck wrote: "The Spanish commanding officers o