Andrew Thomson at the Bar - for Dunkeld
In 1824 there was another disturbance on the same account. The nominee to the parish was unacquainted with Gaelic, and the Presbytery pointed out that it was the common language of the parish and had been used, though not chiefly, at Little Dunkeld and exclusively at Lagganallachy. At the rebuilding of the church, 25 years before, services were conducted in Gaelic. At Communion seasons, there were Gaelic services in the churchyard simultaneously with English, and that nine out of twelve Table Services were in the former language. The case was brought before the General Assembly and many distinguished advocates appeared in it. Advocate Jeffrey affirmed that Little Dunkeld was not in the Highlands, but only "the mouth." Dr. Andrew Thomson’s retort, it is said, really won the case:- "Whoever heard of a Highland mouth without a Highland tongue," and the General Assembly respectfully told the Officers of the Crown they must find a qualified person for this Cure. Not many parishioners nowadays could follow a Gaelic sermon, not even in Strathbraan.
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