Lyceum Phoenix of Friends School - Phoenix Echo Yearbook (Providence, RI)

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person the whole faculty of Friends School. His salary was ,550 a year, exceeding by ten .-pounds that of the village preacher in Goldsmith's Deserted Village : A man he was to all the country dear, And passing rich with forty pounds a year. The School, like most schools and colleges of the present day, soon began to feel the need of more money. This is true now, no matter how much they have, their work grows upon their hands. But Friends School made its little beginning with humble contri- butions of poor people, with widows' mites, and prayer. The times and tides were 11ot propitious, indeed the location proved to be most unfortunate for business. Newport secured permanent land rents to the funds of the School, which were of vital importance to it. These were reduced or lost at once, by very unwise paper currency legislation on the part of the State of Rhode Island in 1786. The result of the forcing act was a complete stagnation of business. Merchants discontinued their dealings, and traders closed their shops. The farmers, who had pledged their lands for the paper bills, to retaliate upon the traders refused to bring their produce to market. -QHzLvf. R. f.,Q1fS. G. Arnold, Vol. ff,fv.5.21.5 Rhode Island did 11ot adopt the constitution, and become a part of the United States, until 1790, and then only by a majority of two votes. Very nearly a condition of anarchy existed at the end of four unfortunate school years, a11d very nearly State repudiation of just debts. A general improvement began in 1790. In the midst of the public distress which prevailed, the Meeting for Sufferings decided to take a vacation, to begin at the time of Rhode Island Quarterly Meeting, in the Tenth Mo., 1788. The School did not open again until the first day of the First Mo., 1819. The unexpected often happens i11 human affairs, and this long va- cation is a striking example of it. Each succeeding year, as Yearly Meeting time arrived, way did not open and the vacation was ex- tended another year, in the hope of better and more settled busi- ness. The subject was referred again tothe Meeting for Suffer- ings in 1790, and a committee on education appointed to wake up the people.- Y. Ill. Rec., Vol. ff, ji. 34. The agitation for the revival of the School was constantly before the Yearly Meeting from 1795 to 1801. Friends are earnestly pleaded with to give to the fund every year. A committee, with Moses Brown at the head of it, was directed to see what could be

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to aid American institutions, that I can never cease to be grateful that no money appears to have come from them to build up Zion here. But there is a record of an incidental event of some interest fif- teen years later, in a correspondence between the very same meet- ings. There was, it seems, great scarcity of provisions in England and Ireland, due to Napoleon, perhaps, we are not informed, but the following extract from a letter from the London Meeting to our own tells a portion of the fraternal interest and sympathy rarely called forth from east to west in our denomination: The sums received from the different Meetings on your continent amounted to 58,326-18s-5d, which appear to have been applied to the relief of 81o cases of Friends, and 420 of those not in membership, exclu- sive of the number of both classes relieved in Ireland, which we ap- prehend to be about one-seventh more. The proportion of the above sum received from you was A928-2S-6d. from the attention of our committee we have reason to believe the distribution has been made in a manner conformable to your view, with care and judgment and it is comfortable to us to be able to inform you that the assistance has been in most instances seasonable and very gratefully accepted. This Meeting is now much relieved from its pressure, and in a thankful sense thereof and of your sympathy and benevolence we are your affectionate friends. Signed on behalf of the meeting Geo. Stacey, Qlerk. Meeting for Sufferings of London. Third of oth Mo. ISO2.H This collection of money in the wilderness of America in 1802, to feed the destitute Friends in the metropolis of England, mem- bers of the oldest organizations of the Society, brings irresistibly to our minds Barnabas and Saul bearing relief from the Gentile churches at Antioch and elsewhere, to the poor saints of the mother church at Jerusalem. Acts 11: 29. For it hath been the good pleasure of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor that are among the saints that are at Jerusalem. Rom. 15: 26. Isaac Lawton, during four years, from 1784 to 1788, was the chief and probably only teacher. He was not only a preacher and poet, but he had been clerk of the Yearly Meeting as long as it had been attractive to him, also the first clerk of the first Meeting, for Sufferings i11 177 5. - He received by no means extravagant com- pensation for his services, considering that he was in his proper

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done for a religious and guarded education of youth.- Y. Ill. Rec., Vol. ff, jv. 167. The accumulated fund of the School, beginning with the rem- nant of the Portsmouth School of 1788, was reported to the Yearly Meeting, in 1801, as amounting to f3,837.4O, a large sum for the period. The Committee was appointed to revive the School. Moses Brown and his son Obadiah, the two greatest benefactors the School has ever had to this day, men of blessed memory, were on that committee. Eight thousand dollars were tendered to the School i11 1802, upon condition that another eight thousand be subscribed. The meeting in 1803 found itself unable to secure the desired sum of eight thousand, and thus failed of securing the six- teen thousand dollars. Little more was done of importance, except enthusiastic discussion on the subject, until 1810, when the Yearly Meeting appointed a committee which reported, in 181 1', the fund to be about 88,ooo, and they then asked to have the Yearly Meet- ing direct the Meeting for Sufferings to re-open the School. Moses and Obadiah Brown were both onthat committee, with Moses at the head of it. The matter of opening the School went to the Meeting for Sufferings in 1812, and that meeting took jurisdiction, and attempted to begin again, when the war of 1812 threw its blight across its pathway-the second war it had encountered. There were scanty harvests in that year, which increased very seriously their- difficulty. Nothing had been done in 1813 but the creation of an earnest purpose, to begin as soon as the reasonable opportunity appeared. The eventful year of 181.1 followed, which was to be the era of the glorious dawn of light, and the hour of the revival of Friends School through the noble beneficence of its illustrious founder, who had been its faithful treasurer from the beginning, and only ceased to labor for it when he had gone to his final rest in 1836. Moses Brown announced to the Meeting for Sufferings, o11 the Fourth day of Fourth Mo., 1814. I have, for the furtherance of these desirable objects, concluded to give a tract of land o11 the west part of my homestead farm, containing about forty-three acres, for the purpose of erecting suitable buildings for the Board- ing School thereon ..... ' As treasurer of the School Fund, I may for your information mention, that its present amount is about 11ine thousand three hun- dred dollars.