Chapter One
The Establishment of the Lodge
First Steps
Saint Peter's Operative Lodge was formed on 28th December 1818 St. John the Evangelist's Day "being a Sunday and the first minute is as follows:-"Thurso 28th Dec.1818"
We the under Subscribers having meet this day in order to form ourselves into a Lodge to be called Saint Peters Operative Lodge Thurso and having proceeded to elect office-bearers, The following were duly elected Alexander Carnaby Master John Campbell Taylor Depute Master, William Taylor Mason Senior Warden Donald Dunett Innkeeper Junior Warden, Donald MacGregor Treasurer, William MacIver Merchant Secretary and John Swanson Tyler, And the foregoing persons having accepted of said offices, It was resolved that the enter money be three shillings sterling which being collected amounted to Two Pounds Fourteen Shillings sterling, out of which Two Shillings was paid for a Book and the balance was left in the Treasurers hands to be accounted for at next Quarter day. It was further agreed that the Quarter pence be One Shilling and Sixpence.
Apart from the election of office-bearers the business at this meeting is entirely non-masonic. There still exists a comprehensive set of regulations for the lodge and its benefit fund of this date. This is given in Appendix One end will be discussed in Chapter Four when the whole subject of the benefit fund is examined.
The next record is a scroll minute of 10th February 1819:-
We the under subscribers having meet this day in order to form ourselves into a Society to be called the Masonic Society and having proceeded to elect office-bearers. The following were chosen viz:-
Mr.Alexander Carnaby (Preses), Mr.Daniel Taylor (Treasurer),
John Campbell and Arthur Sinclair, (Stewards)
William Mackay, (Clerk)
The forgoing members having accepted of the said offices, "Resolved that the enter money be three shillings sterling It was further agreed that the quarter pence "be one Shilling and Sixpence sterling and that the first meeting of the Society shall take place upon Wednesday first being the Seventeenth Current at the house of Mr Donald Dunnett at 6 O'clock P.M."
We have no record of the first quarterly meeting but it was probably held because a new member was enrolled on that day. The second quarterly meeting was held on 31st March and was exclusively concerned with the benefit fund.
The Petition to St.John's Lodge
The first move towards getting a charter was made on 12th April 1819 when petitions were sent to St.John's Lodge as the Lodge of Thurso was now known and to St. Fergus Lodge, Wick.
The petition to St.John's Lodge is as follows:-
Unto the Worshipful Master Worshipful Wardens and Worthy Brethren of St Johns Lodge Thurso The petition of the under signed Brethren Sheweth, that in Consequence of your Lodge being a Lodge of Gentlemen The Petitioners as Office Bearers appointed by their Brethren for the Establishment of an Operative Lodge under the Chart of the Grand of Scotland to which they consider themselves entitled so that they may the more speedily be enabled to Constitute themselves under such Masonic rules and regulations as may support the true honour of the Craft as well as Sick or indigent Brn. their Widows <&c &c> and in order thereto the said petitioners find it Necessary that a Certificate be obtained from this Worl. Lodge as under Craved.
"May it therefore please the Worsl. Master Worsl. Wardens and Worthy Brethren to certify hereon the Capacity and ability of the petitioners to form and hold a Regular Lodge of Master Masons agreeable to the Chart of the Grand Lodge of Scotland"
We do not know why the petition had not been prepared earlier but there may have been some previous negotiations. Alexander Carnaby in his accompanying letter addressed to the Master of St.John's Lodge, Captain Patrick Doull Calder of Mountpleasant asks for a decision quickly. If St. John's Lodge is not meeting on 15th April he asks that a special meeting be called.
Captain Calder replied on the following day. He said that the next meeting would be on 24th June but he would pass the petition round for the members to become familiar with the request before then. He then continued..
"I beg to take this opportunity of expressing my regret that any portion of the Members of Saint John's Lodge should at any time have conceived themselves called on to secede;- but more particularly at the present period, after the active part recently taken by them in the settlement of the Revised Bye-Laws for the future government of No.38. In doing which I trust I speak the sentiments of my Brethren in office as well as the other members of the Lodge over which I have the honour to preside."
There was no quorum when St.John's Lodge met on 24th June and, despite a reminder sent in Octobers the matter was not resolved until St.Andrew's Day.
Negotiations with Wick
The Wick petition was sent to the Master of St. Fergus Lodge, Allan MacParlane, with a letter expressing the hope that it would not be necessary for all of the petitioners to travel to Wick. The Secretary of St.Fergus Lodge replied on 13th May and asked for the petitioners' diplomas and a certificate of moral character from the parish minister. These were supplied within a month but then these negotiations also slowed up. On 23rd June William Bain, a member of St.Fergus Lodge who acted in some respects as agent for the petitioners, said the lodge would act soon but were awaiting "Rose". Carnaby's reply in July suggests that "Rose" was a vessel. As Allan MacFarlane was fishery officer at Wick, it may be supposed that it was his return that was awaited.St.Fergus, too, needed a reminder in October and it seems that a decision was also arrived at on St.Andrew's Day.
The Petition to Grand Lodge
St.John's Lodge refused to subscribe to the petition but the Wick office-bearers had signed their version. Despite the setback Carnaby went ahead with his plans and sent the following petition to the Grand Lodge of Scotland:-Unto the Right Worshipful Grand Master, Grand Wardens Grand Secretary, Treasurer and Worshipful Bretheren of the Grand Lodge of Scotland -
The Petition (under Masonic order) of Brothers Alexander Carnaby, John Campbell, William Taylor, Donald Dunnett, William Allan, Alexander Davidson, William MacIver, Donald Macgregor and John Swanson all Master Masons residing in Thurso in connection with the under subscribing Brethren Humbly sheweth.
That though by all this time of masonry the Petitioners operated in conjunction with that now held as the nominated St.John's Lodge of Thurso No.38 for a length of time even some to the extent of from Twenty to Thirty years back with the sole intention of supporting the dignity of the Craft yet the Petitioners in consequence of a requis ition of the said lodge after having attended to vote in the revising of and forming a new Code of by laws for the better regulating of funds in time coming to their grief were disappointed as no satisfactory provision was made for the support of indigent Brethren therefore the Petrs. found it necessary to dissent from said Lodge and proposed to form themselves into an operative Lodge under the Chart of your Right worshipful Grand Lodge and to adopt such rules and regulations agreeable thereto as may support the true honor of the Craft as well as sick and indigent brethren Widows &c. That to further this intention the Petitioners agreeable to the requisites of your Right Worshipful Grand Lodge applied to St Johns Lodge Thurso and that of the Neighbouring Lodge of St Fergus No.252 Wick as far back as the 13th April last for a Certificate of the Petrs. Qualifications to hold a lodge of Master Masons a copy of the Petition to St Johns Lodge is sent herewith on which after having attended three successive stated meeting nights waiting a deliverance they upon the 30th day of Nov. last were pleased to refuse such without any reason and would not give any other than the excerpt herewith produced That in compliance with the prayer of the Petition presented to St Fergus Lodge Wick they readily at their meeting on the 2d. Curt. Granted the Certificate required which is also herewith produced from all which it is necessary for the Petrs. to make the present application to your Right Worshipful Grand Lodge kindly hoping the following request will be granted -
May it therefore please the Right Worshipful and to Grant Charter to the Petitioners to hold a Lodge of "Master Masons dedicated to St.John, under such rules and regulations as are consistent with that of the Grand Lodge of Scotland"
Grand Secretary, Alexander Lawries replied on 20th December. He pointed out that it was essential that two lodges should support the petition. As St.John's Lodge had given no reason for their refusal he did not expect any difficulty in Grand Lodge and recommended that an approach be made to Tain or Inverness. He also pointed out that there was no hurry because Grand Lodge would not meet until the first Monday of February.
This must have been very disappointing to Alexander Carnaby. After all it had taken nearly eight months to get a decision from the local lodges. It was not until 4th January 1820 that a petition was dispatched to St.Duthus Lodge at Tain. There would be some delay in finding out to whom to address the petition but pressing matters may have diverted Carnaby for a time.
Sabotage
There is a scrap of paper surviving dated 27th December 1819 which says:-"We the Comitee chosen by the Master have considered a small difference arising concerning public speaking by Brother Arthur Sinclair and Brother Francis Sinclair two Brothers that irregularities had been done in our Society which we find erroneous and not worth mentioning it coming from St John's Lodge Thurso"
On 31st December a letter was written to the Secretary of St.Fergus Lodge, now Alexander Bremner, refuting the charge that William Maclver. one of the Thurso petitioners, had not been raised to the degree of Master Mason. The letter enclosed a statement from the Secretary of St.John's Lodge that Maclver had been raised on 24th December 1812 and a statement that Carnaby and four others had examined Maclver and found him "able to acquit himself" as a Master Mason. Bremner replied on 7th January saying that St.Fergus Lodge was satisfied and he expressed his regret at the trouble which was "not of our making".
James Shand Acts
James Shand, who had been Secretary and was now Clerk, replied on behalf of St.Duthus Lodge on 11th January. He puts some pertinent queries to St.John's Lodge as the following shows:-As a meeting of the office Bearers of our Lodge will not take place until on or about the 18th Inst and of course no official reply can be given to these Brethren, I presume Sir to offer my own individual opinion in the Interim and to request that I may have to lay before our Lodge your reply to the following Queries,
Is it the opinion of the Lodge of St.John of Thurso that the above named Brethren as they design themselves are of the Degree of Master Mason?
Are they men of good Repute and un-blamed feral Character?
Can the Lodge of St.John state that these men have followed factious and divisive courses or that they have comported themselves in that Lodge, in a Manner unworthy of Masons?
If none of the above or any other valid objections can be produced against them and if it shall appear that they are desirous to Constitute a Lodge & Friendly Society upon principles more adapted to their situations in Life and to their particular Views of the Subject in general I have no hesitation in saying that I certainly think St.Duthus Lodge will give them the required Cert ificate
It is the declared purpose of the Fraternity to aid and assist each other individually - much more so in a Collective Capacity
If therefore no reply is made to this on or before the 15th the Lodge St.Duthus will take it for granted that no material objection can be stated against the
intended purposes of the Petitioners"
••^ James Shand also suggested that the Petitioners
should try to obtaine. testimonial from Robert McKidd, Fiscal of Caithness, who was a Fellow of Craft in St.Duthus Lodge. Robert MacKid - to use the more usual spelling - had been Sheriff Substitute in Sutherland and had been active in the prosecution of Patrick Sellar, factor to the Duke of Suther land, for alleged cruelty in the Clearances. When Sellar was acquitted, he sued MacKid for libel and the latter, who had already lost his post, was ruined. He then came to Thurso but failed to prosper. He left and died in poverty elsewhere. He gave the required testimonial to the Thurso brethren and this was sent to St.Duthus on 18th January.
The date of the next communication of Grand Lodge was now drawing near and Alexander Carnaby was very worried about the possibility of the charter not being granted on that occasion. On 29th January he wrote to Grand Secretary telling him about the state of negotiations with Tain but expressing the hope that Grand Lodge would not await Tain’s decision. He explained that the continued delay was putting a strain on their finances. He also asked Grand Secretary to act for the Petitioners because they had no Edinburgh acquaintances.
His fears turned out to be groundless because St. Duthus Lodge had met on 23rd January when they had all the relevant papers before them, including a reply from the Secretary of St.John's Lodge. It was unanimously agreed to grant the prayer of the Thurso petition and Carnaby was able to send it to Grand Secretary on 31st January.
After all this excitement the minute of Grand Lodge is somewhat of an anticlimax. Grand Lodge met on 7th February 1820 and the minute says
"The Secretary laid before the Grand Lodge a Petition from a number of Brethren residing in and about Thurso craving a Charter from the Grand Lodge to hold a Lodge under the name of........which Petition with
certificates from Saint Fergus Wick and St.Duthus Tain and correspondence by the Petitioners and Saint Johns Lodge Thurso being considered by the Grand Lodge, they granted the prayer of the Petition and authorised and hereby authorise the Grand Secretary and Grand Clerk to issue a Charter accordingly"
Lawrie wrote two days later and St.Peter's Operative Lodge had its first meeting under Grand Lodge within a week. The first minute begins as follows:-
"Thurso 15th February 1820"
In consequence of a letter of Warrandie from the Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Scotland dated the 9th day of February Current of which the tener follows: Sir Edinburgh 9th Feby 1820; I have the pleasure to acquaint you that the Grand Lodge of Scotland at their Quarterly Communication held here of the 7th Current did Grant the prayer of the Petition for the Erection of a new Lodge at Thurso, I have also to acknowledge a Bill upon the Commercial Bank for Twenty one pounds as payment of the "Charter, The Brethren may now commence their Masonic labours according to ancient usage and this letter will be sufficient worrandie for them to proceed till the Charter is Expede So soon as the Lodge is formed two of its members will go before a Justice of Peace or Magistrate and make Oath that they hold no meetings of any kind but for Masonic purposes which affidavit must be transmitted to me that I may be enabled to give the Annual Grand Lodge Certificate for which a fee of Five Shillings is paid. Wishing you all success and prosperity I remain Sir your mo/ obed servt. PS. You have forgot to say precisely what is the proper name of the Lodge."
Thus, thirteen and a half months after its formation, was St.Peter1s Operative Lodge enabled to commence its work.
Comment
As the records are good it has seemed best to let the story unfold itself in the words of the participants but there are a number of matters that should be discussed before closing this chapter.We do not have enough information to pass judgment on St.John's Lodge. It may be that the founders of St.Peter's Lodge were not treated fairly in the older lodge and had a legitimate grievance. On the other hand, it is not clear why the benefit fund should not have been set up independently of the Craft. It is not surprising that St.John's Lodge should have been opposed to a new lodge in Thurso because the town was too small to maintain two lodges. Whether there would have been a different outcome if St.John's Lodge had made a reasoned approach to Grand Lodge is an interesting question.
It is possible that the speedy conclusion to the negotiations was partly attributable to St.Peter's Lodge having a Fifth Column in the ranks of the older lodge. A letter was received by the new lodge at the end of March 1820 complaining that Master Masons joining the benefit fund now had to pay more than had been paid by the founders and that the writer had "publicly" declared "many months ago" that he wished to join. The writer was William Manson, Secretary of St.John's Lodge.
Chapter Two
Language Translator
Lodge Meetings
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