9th Arizona Territorial Legislature

As with all his previous addresses, Governor Safford discussed the current situation involving the Indian Wars.[2] To this he added his concerns about outlaws. Declaring highwaymen "are a scourge to civilization, a disgrace to humanity, and should be swept from the face of the earth as remorselessly as the most ferocious wild beast", he recommended highway robbery be made a capital crime.[4] The governor was able to report that the Yuma Territorial Prison was partially open, holding eight prisoners with a capacity for thirty.[2]

The ninth session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature was unusually productive, passing 79 new laws.[4] The revised legal code drafted by the Territorial Secretary, dubbed the "Hoyt Code", was adopted as the basis of the territory's legal system.[5]

Despite the previous session's permanently fixing the territorial capital in Tucson,[7] the first action taken by this session was to move the capital to Prescott.[4] Other organizational changes included adjusting the northern boundary of Maricopa County, moving the seat of Mohave County to Mineral Park, and incorporating the City of Tucson.[7] In a related activity, residents of Grant County, New Mexico Territory had voiced a desire to have their county annexed to the Arizona Territory.[4] The legislature responded by petitioning the U.S. Congress to make the requested transfer.[7]

To help deal with continuing lawlessness, the session authorized payment of a US$300 reward for the capture of two highwaymen who had robbed a stagecoach and its accompanying United States mail near Skull Valley on January 4, 1877.[4] They also authorized formation of another volunteer force to fight in the Apache Wars.[7]

Other actions included imposition of a US$50 fine on anyone who allowed their hogs to run wild within a town.[4] Maricopa County was given permission to issue US$15,000 in bonds for a series of four roads radiating from Phoenix: one to Globe City, one to Yuma via Agua Caliente, and two routes to Prescott via Black Canyon and Wickenburg.[4] Finally, the session granted divorces to ten couples.[4]