War at Washington. During his period of national service he had the satisfaction of seeing his territory flooded with newcomers, till in 1837 it entered the Union as a state with one hundred and seventy-five thousand inhabitants. It was due to the statesmanship of its governor that Michigan Territory was so well-ordered and well-developed a region and was therefore so soon ready for statehood. He educated the original settlers to self-government, organized courts and legislative assemblies and guided their policies, and furthered the cause of public education. During the eighteen years of his governorship he devoted himself to such service with a zeal that won immediate results. In his double position as governor and superintendent of Indian affairs, Cass did much else for the western lake region. Even after the cessation of hostilities, he found the British attitude hostile and aggravating. This showed itself in two ways. The British were inclined to ignore the rights of the United States citizens and to interfere with their liberty when the proximity of the two nations brought up any disputed question; they also stirred the Indians to hostility. Governor Cass stood out boldly, insisting that the United States must be treated according to the customs of international law between two equal powers. In time the British came to realize that they were dealing with a nation, not with a detached and feeble territory. Governor Cass could not handle so openly the British instigation of the Indians to hostility toward the United States and its western settlers. There was no law to prevent the distribution of sixty tons of presents among the Indians who gathered at Malden from the American as well as from the Canadian side of the river. The British did not realize that the time had come for them to give up their guardianship of all Indian tribes who did not live within their lawful jurisdiction.