As Grand Treasurer of County Tyrone Grand Orange Lodge, he was one of the platform speakers at the celebration of The Twelfth at Strabane in 1954 where he stressed loyalty to the Prime Minister while saying that 'it was at times not as good as it was when they were under the late Lord Carson'. Beattie went on to deny that there was any split in Orange ranks but to warn that if the Government of Northern Ireland did not act wisely (in the opinion of the Orange Order), the Order 'would know what to do when it came to the next election'.