19th Arizona Territorial Legislature

The 19th Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly was a session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature which convened in Phoenix, Arizona. The session began on January 18, 1897, and ended on March 18, 1897.

A long running feud within the territory's Democratic Party had come to an end with the removal of L. C. Hughes as governor on March 30, 1896. He was replaced by Benjamin Joseph Franklin. The effects of the Panic of 1896 had been felt in the territory. Despite this, the territorial government's financial outlook remained solid. The territory's cattle and mining industries continued to expand and new settlers kept arriving. Work to construct the grounds for a territorial capitol were under way but no capital building had yet been authorized.

The session began on January 18, 1897. Of the 320 bills introduced, 88 were signed into law. A number of vetos by Governor Franklin caused animosity between himself and the House of Representatives. This included 11 pocket vetos at the end of the session.

The governor was sick at the time the session began. This resulted the address being delayed until the afternoon of January 28. The governor was present while the address was read to the session members by the governor's son, Alfred. At roughly 20,000 words, the address was considered to be of "unusual length" and spoke of the territory's glorious future potential. In many respects the speech was an argument for statehood as well as the traditional address. It began by complimenting the session member's honor, intelligence, and patriotism. Franklin then asked for the legislators to practice financial restraint and to not be hasty in the performance of their duties.

Speaking about the territory's development, Franklin noted the territorial population had reached an estimated 101,000 with opportunities for future growth if additional acreage could be put to agricultural use through new irrigation projects. Mining continued to be the territory's largest economic engine with US$14 million in revenue during 1896. Cattle ranching and farming followed with an estimated revenues of US$3 million and US$2 million each. Enrollment at the University of Arizona had reached 149 students with 16,936 children enrolled in the territory's schools.

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