Because of Conscience by Amy Ella Blanchard

The situation in New York at this time was exciting. The air was rife with reports that the Roman Catholics of other colonies adjacent were making preparations to march upon New York, and that there were persons within the city's borders who were willing to betray it into the hands of those opposed to Protestantism. It was even rumored that General Dongan was in the plot, and the people turned to Jacob Leisler, that impetuous, if indiscreet, upholder of the liberties of the people. Having first seized the fort, he turned out the English troops, established himself in the name of the common people, and defied his enemies. It was quite natural that many of the Huguenots, dreading an establishment of that power from which they had already suffered so much, should cling to Leisler's cause, and that the Dutch militia, all strong Protestants, should also array themselves against any government which represented a Jacobite king. Yet there were many office-holders who because of their being members of the same church as Leisler should have been above suspicion, but the impetuous Leisler did not believe in half measures, and pursued, denounced, and arrested in a wholesale manner. It was all or nothing with him, and honest as his intentions doubtless were, his hammer-and-nails way of dealing with his political opponents, his lack of tact, and his uncompromising faculty of making enemies at last brought about his own downfall.

Without being aware of it those under the roof of the Merciers were at loggerheads. Papa Louis and Gerard were strong upholders of Jacob Leisler; Lendert Verplanck was as strongly arrayed on the side of Van Cortlandt, Bayard, and Phillipse; while Francois Dupont, an ardent Frenchman, was ready to do what mischief he could to any foe of his own country. He considered that no means should be despised if it brought about the ultimate benefit to France, and he was ready to declare himself a friend to any cause if by so doing he could accomplish his ends.