In those days Carthage contained the chief enemies of the Prophet, and the town became a gathering place for those bent upon his destruction. Any movement in opposition to him or to the Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo found sympathetic support there. Justice for the Prophet in Carthage was therefore absolutely impossible. The lawyers and those encompassing his destruction took advantage of the law on a question of venue to put the object of their venom at the mercy of men whose attitude towards him was always malignant. During these days the Prophet was the mayor of Nauvoo, and his home-town sheltered men who were seeking to encompass the Prophet and his devoted followers. Such men were indeed a very small minority, but they were able to make a great amount of noise and do endless mischief. A certain individual had undertaken to appropriate the wharfage lands at the foot of Water Street, and thus create an issue between himself and the city. Such conduct awakened antagonism between people outside of Nauvoo desiring to carry on business there in the city. Outsiders did not always discriminate between the conduct of the mischief-makers and the people at large. Everything disagreeable and annoying was laid at the door of the Latter-day Saints. These facts will explain the Prophet's outburst of indignation when he said: "I want every fool to stay at home and let the steamboats and captains and peace officers alone. How can we prevent mobs and the shedding of innocent blood unless we strike at everything that rises up in disorder." There were in the city secret combinations planned to thwart the purposes of Joseph and to bring confusion upon him and the great majority of the people. Among those plotting his ruin were men who professed personal friendship. "I despise," he says, "the man who betrays with a kiss. A certain man has been writing to the New York Tribune. I will not mention his name. He says much that was appropriated for the Temple has been spent for other purposes. But any man who has paid anything for the Temple can learn from the books that every farthing has been used for that building. There are many men in our midst who are trying {202} to build themselves up at our expense, and others are watching for some pretended iniquity, and make a man an offender for a word."