"In this Time of Commotion"

Notes and Documents "IN THIS TIME OF COMMOTION" By Agnes H. Campbell* For over three hundred years members of the Society of Friends have tried to maintain viable relationships between the peace testimony, family and community obligations, and such duties of citizenship as they felt they could accept. This is made more difficult by the subtleties of interpretation of what constitutes "participation " in war—payment of taxes, investments in industry and business, acceptance of pay for services rendered, and perplexing questions regarding the "side effects" of some apparently minor transactions. During the American Revolution New York Monthly Meeting labored with an unexpected example of this. By 1774 New York Friends needed more meeting space than provided by the old meetinghouse on Liberty (then Crown) Street. Land was bought on Pearl (then Queen) Street and with the approval of New York Yearly Meeting a new house was built.1 Storage space was provided in the basement of the new meetinghouse. Shortly after the British occupied New York they took this space over for military supplies. Money for rent was given to the Friends responsible for the upkeep of the building. Some members of the meeting were disturbed and return of the money was considered. However, Friends were not clear about this and it was referred to the New York Meeting for Sufferings. After consideration in Eleventh and Twelfth months, 1778, it appeared to be "the mind of this Meeting that it will be most safe that the money should be returned to the King's Commissary office from whence it was received, which is nevertheless deferred to the next Meeting."2 After further discussion and some disagreement it was decided to send the question to the next session of New York Yearly Meeting.3 *North Plainfield, New Jersey, formerly Keeper of Records, New York Yearly Meeting. 1.Minutes of New York Yearly Meeting (1748-1800), pp. 75, 76, 80, 86. 2.Minutes of New York Meeting for Sufferings, 1 1 mo. 20, 1 778. 3.Ibid., 4 mo. 16, 1779. 120 NOTES AND DOCUMENTS121 The Yearly Meeting in 1779 thought it best to consult Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Accordingly a letter was prepared as a postscript to the epistle to be sent to Philadelphia: Dear Friends ... In this time of commotion something of a peculiar nature hath come before us which appearing of such importance that this Meeting agreed it was most safe to Communicate the matter unto you desiring your kind and bnrtherly assistance therein. Soon after the British Troops came into the City of New York they took possession of Friends new Meeting House there the Cellar of which was originally intended as a store. They occupied it as such for the use of the army for which Friends who were appointed to the Care of said House have received a certain sum of money for the use thereof for one year which being Solidly Considered appeared too weighty for us finally to determine we therefore request your judgment thereon whither receiving said money affects or is anyway Contrary to the Testimony Friends as a people have to bear against war.4 The Friends appointed to take this epistle to Philadelphia reported to New York Yearly Meeting in 1780, bringing back a minute from Philadelphia, approved in 1779, advising that "it appears to be our United sense and judgment, that the money received by Friends as rent for the Meeting House cellar ought to be returned, and that friends ought not to rent or hire their Meeting Houses for military purposes or stores;—and we apprehend that if they who are appointed to return the Money wait to be properly Clothed, and the Reasons given for our Religious Scruples herein, they may tend to reach the witness in them to whom it is returned, and promote our peaceable testimony." New York Friends concurred in this and appointed two Friends to return the money and report to the next Yearly Meeting.5 At the 1781 Yearly Meeting session the Friends selected to return the money reported that they had tried to give it back to the Commissary office but it had not been accepted. So a statement was prepared explaining why...