Also a correspondent to the _State Register_ published at Springfield, Illinois, speaking of Thomas C. Sharp, editor of the _Warsaw Signal_ and the anti-Mormon disturbances in Hancock county said: "He [Sharp] is also described as having made himself the 'organ of a gang of town lot speculators at Warsaw,' who are afraid that Nauvoo is about to kill off their town and render speculation abortive." [5] Mr. Backenstos in January, 1845, when the repeal of the Nauvoo Charter was under discussion in the Illinois legislature, referred to this same subject in a speech on the floor of the house of representatives, in the course of which he said: "Town rivalry had also something to do with this opposition to Nauvoo. While Warsaw was on the decline, Nauvoo was rapidly increasing {XXVI} in wealth and population; a plan to bring about a re-action was soon concocted by the leading men of Warsaw, who made one pilgrimage after another to Nauvoo, imploring the Mormon Prophet to aid them in building up a city adjoining the town of Warsaw, by settling a portion of the Mormon population in and about Warsaw, and commence the building of a new city. The bubble soon exploded, and the speculation failed. This gave rise to dissatisfaction with some who had heretofore been exceedingly polite to '_Lieutenant General Joseph Smith!_'" [6] Thus in every way, to refer back to the point of starting the discussion of this subdivision, the Latter-day Saints are proven by their achievements and the foundations they laid for the future greatness of their city, to be a superior people, and hence a desirable addition to the population of the then young commonwealth of Illinois. _VI. The Character of the People of Western Illinois._