diff --git a/Essentials/src/com/earth2me/essentials/Settings.java b/Essentials/src/com/earth2me/essentials/Settings.java
index 421672dcc..8c5a452bd 100644
--- a/Essentials/src/com/earth2me/essentials/Settings.java
+++ b/Essentials/src/com/earth2me/essentials/Settings.java
@@ -1278,7 +1278,7 @@ public class Settings implements net.ess3.api.ISettings {
     
     private boolean npcsInBalanceRanking = false;
     
-    public boolean _isNpcsInBalanceRanking() {
+    private boolean _isNpcsInBalanceRanking() {
         return config.getBoolean("npcs-in-balance-ranking", false);
     }