Sayyiduna Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him), the freed slave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), says: It may be that your life is prolonged and you become amir over ten people in a place where people live away from the settled towns. So take care to avoid becoming amir over ten or more people, because whoever is made amir over ten or more people, when he presents himself before Allah Almighty, his hand will be bound; whatever transgression he committed will not free him, only justice will be able to free him, if he acted justly among the people. And never settle a place that lies away from the settled towns, for the one who settles such a place is like one who populates the graves.
Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat from his teacher Maslamah bin Raja', whom I do not know; the rest of its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب الخلافة / 9046