September 3rd 1707

Protesting the Militia Act

The same thing happened at Fortingall and Kenmore and all over Atholl and Breadalbane groups of men gathered. There was a feeling of anger and excitement but it was not until the next day that the crowd began to exhibit a common purpose. Two thousand of them marched towards Castle Menzies where Sir John Menzies, a deputy lieutenant of the county, lived.

The men had now found leaders, Angus Cameron from Weem and James Menzies. When they reached the Castle they sent in the factor with a message that if Sir John wished to preserve his Castle he would be advised to come outside and sign a declaration promising not to execute the provisions of the Act. Wisely he obeyed the summons and wrote at Angus Cameron’s dictation. “We hereby solemnly declare that we shall use no forcible means to apprehend, confine or imprison any person assistant whatever who has appeared at Castle Menzies or elsewhere, or in any part of Perth on prior days; further that we shall petition government for an abolition nullifying of the foresaid Act from the records of British parliament; that the members of parliament of this county shall present this petition, or any annexed thereto to the two Houses of Parliament, to the Privy Council during the prorogation of parliament. This we shall do of our own free will and accord, as we shall answer to God.” 

Afterwards the declaration was signed by the Stewarts of Garth and the ministers of Weem and Dull. The people left Castle Menzies led by Cameron and close by it was said that he did “most seditiously and wickedly administer an oath to the people thus riotously assembled, to stand by one another in their illegal endeavours to resist the authority of the established law of the country.” 

More and more people were joining the crowd as they made their way across the Tay to Alexander Menzies of Bolfrocks. He also signed the declaration. The crowd now divided, with Cameron taking the north bank and James Menzies (“The east Indian” ) the south. As they made their way eastwards the lairds and gentry were all forced to sign the declaration. By the time the two factions had met up again near Ballechin it was dark and the crowd had swelled to perhaps ten thousand people.

Hope Stewart of Ballechin refused but after he was seriously manhandled he wisely changed his mind. Later he was to ride to Perth where he wrote to the Duke of Atholl “I am not at liberty to take any concern in carrying the Militia Act into execution.”  It was not an attitude reflected by many of the gentlemen who had signed the declaration.

The next day there was another march upon Blair Castle. The Duke had already signed the declaration, but fearing for his safety, had raised some 400 tenants and gentry to defend the Castle. Although the crowd outnumbered the defenders by twenty to one there was no attempt to storm the Castle. Already there was evidence that the people were in two minds as to what to do next. Many wished to return home believing that they had achieved their objects. Others, with Cameron, had more revolutionary aims in view, but as was to appear all to soon, they were not too sure what these aims actually were and in any case they lacked the expertise and discipline necessary to carry them out.

When Cameron told them that they should assemble in small parties so that they would not be dealt with as a mob under the Riot Act, the suggestion inspired fear and dismay. They had but sticks and clubs with which to defend themselves and it was only the security they felt in their great numbers that gave them the courage to meet the expected threat of being attacked by English dragoons sent north from Perth. There was talk of raiding the armoury at Taymouth Castle (Lord Breadalbane was in London as usual) but nothing came of it. Though the people still gathered in large numbers and still paraded with their burning torches at night, no one quite knew what they were expected to do next. There was talk of the men from Rannoch and Glenlyon joining the demonstrations and even those from further afield, but for the moment all seemed content to wait. When the stalemate was finally broken it was the army that provided the means.

Very early on the morning of Thursday September 14th Captain Colberg of the Windsor Foresters with eighteen men arrived in Weem, broke down Cameron’s door and arrested James Menzies and himself without any resistance.

They were bundled into a coach and the party made their way towards Grantully. In his report Colberg states “We observed hundreds of people with forks, fowling pieces, pikes and scythes fixed on poles, pouring from the mountains and water side and the road covered with men women and children.”  The crowds followed the coach but made no attempt to rescue the prisoners.

Their lack of revolutionary expertise and secondary leadership was all too clearly demonstrated. There was indeed an attempt to prevent the coach crossing the bridge at Grantully but it was unsuccessful and before evening the prisoners were lodged at Perth. The lack of leadership now became even more apparent. There were threats to burn Castle Menzies and other grandiose projects but nothing happened and the revolt was to all intent and purposes over. Later, a detachment of Sutherland Fencibles came to the district and more alleged ringleaders were arrested.

It was commonly believed by those in authority that the revolt had been brought about by outside causes and to some extent this might be true, but no one thought to look to reasons closer to home. The Highlander’s hatred of compulsory military service, of schoolmasters who forbade the speaking of Gaelic, of ministers appointed by the heritors rather than by the congregation and of lairds who thought more of increasing their rents and less and less of the well-being of their tenants. The people sullenly accepted the Militia Act but their grievances and sense of betrayal remained.

It was January 15th 1798 before Cameron and Menzies were brought before the court in Edinburgh. Both pleaded Not Guilty to the charges of sedition, mobbing and rioting. The next day, Cameron applied for bail and incredibly this was granted. He did not appear the next day and was in fact never seen again.

Menzies also received bail and also disappeared. The minor players in the drama, the eight men arrested by the Sutherland Fencibles, were a little less lucky. They were all sentenced to a year’s imprisonment. Later they were offered a remission of their sentences upon their willingness to join the army or navy.