The weekly Arizona miner. [volume] (Prescott, Ariz.) 1868-1873, 1869-11-13
ADDRESS OF GOV. A. P. K. Stafford.


place having met together, Messrs. c. G. Bean,
III. A. Bigelow and Jesse jackson were APP
pointed a committee To wait upon the Gov
ernor, and request that he would speak to
the citizens at the Court House before leav-
ing Prescott. The committe accordingly adj
dressed the following note to the Governor:
PREscoTT, Arizona, Oct. 30, 1869.
liw Sir: As committee appointed at a meet
ing Of citizens held this day in Prescott, We
express the wish Of all to meet you in public,
q and ask that you will name a time when it
will suit your convenience to address the cit
liens Of Yavapai county. at the Court House
in Prescott, concerning our Territorial affairs.
Very respectfully, yours,
c. Q. BEAN,
HENRY A. BIGELow, Com.
JESSE JACKSON.
The following reply was made to the above
request:
PREscoTT, Arizona, Nov l, 1869.
Messrs. @. c. Bean. Henry A. Bigelow, and
Jesse Jackson, Gentlemen
am in receipt Of your communication Of
Oct. 30th, expressing a desire of the citizens
Of Yayapai county to meet me at the Court
House in Prescott, to hear an expression Of
my views upon the condition of affairs in the
Territory. In accordance with your wishes,
will name Friday evening" Nov. 5th as the
time that will best suit my convenience 10
kattend said meeting. Thanking the commit
tee and through you the citizens for the CON-
plinent paid me, am
Respectfully, your ob't serv't,
A. p. X. SAFFoRp.
At seven o'clock on Friday evening, the
5th inst, the Hall in the Court House was
filled to oyerfiowing. The chairman of the
committee being absent, Col Bigelow escort
ed the Governor TO the stand, called the
meeting TO order, read the above correspon-
dence, and introduced to the audience, His
Excellency Governor A. p. X. Stafford, who
spoke a. follows:
Mr.. Chairman and fellor citizens of Yarapai
oOunty:-I am glad Of having the opportunity
OF appearing before you, not omake speech
but to consult with you and hold friendly
conversation, and give you such knowledge
as possess of the resources of the country
and my ideas of what is necessary to develop
those resources.
Before coming to Arizona, the question
was frequently asked me, why do you 20
there . IL is but a barren desert, designed
only for Apaches, coyotes and rattlesnakes
The American people have tried to divert
the use Of the country 10 other purposes
hence the dark pail Of night that hangs over
it, because the Lord will not permit his laws
to be INSTRUCTED
had been somewhat familiar with oul
northern deserts, and a desert 10 me, was in
decd barren waste, and | was astonsheC
when came to Arizona, TO find the desert,
here possessing excellent land, generally GOV
cred with considerable vegetation and onl,
wanting water to make them habitable, anc
valuable for stock raising, and large portion,
Of them susceptible of producing excellen
grain, aiid i here predict that the time is no
far distant, when artesian wells will be sunk
and an abundance of water procured to max,
these deserts alive with busy industry .anC
covered with fiocks and herds, and wayin,
fields Of grain, with happy homes, churches
school houses, and all the appliances of civil
ization, but need not dwell upon this brancl
Of our resources. Throwing this portion o
our Territory entirely aside, and considerin,
it only made 10 hold the balance together
and make the prediction from the knowl
edge possess of the country, with firm
consciousness that the future will sustain
the prediction, that no State or Territor
within the limits of the United States con
tains such variety Of resources as Arizona
and few can excel in any one of these resour
ces. i know TINS statement Will DC receives
by all those who do not possess an intimat
knowledge OF Arizona, as the statement q
an enthusiast. or one who intends 10 misrep
resent, but intend 90 give the reasons 70
the faith that is in me, and then challeng
those who dispute it to go and examine 70
themselves. IL win not be disputed that W
can raise nearly every product that spring
from the earth in the tropical or temporal
zone, because this fact has been demonstrated
| wish / had the statistics so a. to compar
the yield with other portions Of the Unite'
States. / am sure, if it could be asce9tained
Arizona would not fall far behind the fore
most. From the best information can oh
tain, by personal observation, and genera
inquiry among the farmers the yield Of cor
averages from 80 to 60 bushels per acre. an
in one instance a farmer told me his crop, las
year, yielded los bushels per acre. hay
generally observed that not near the care j
taken in preparing the ground that is asua
in the Atlantic States, and generally bu
very little attention is paid to iss cultivation
after IL is planted. Wheat, barley and oat
yield from 40 to 90 bushels per acre, and veg
etabIes grow IN quantity and quality equal L
any country in the world. The orange, lem
on, olive, grape and fig tree will yield sbtnl
dainty oyera large portion OF Arizona, am
from the few experiments made, the appl
and peach do equally well In addition 4
the grain in Arizona yielding an equal guam