A RIGHT OF WAY CASE.
A paragraph of a rather peculiar character appears in the last minute for 1885. At that time the committee were in the thick of their preparations for the new bakery, and must have been extremely busy. Nevertheless, some time during the month, a letter was received which must have worried the secretary and the sub-committee not a little. It was signed “Thomas Mann,” and was as follows:—
“Gentlemen,—As aiders and abettors in the Kilbarchan Right of Way case I have to inform you that the expenses, amounting to £850. are still unpaid, and that unless an arrangement is made with my law agent within eight days an action will be raised against you in the Court of Session for the full amount.”
The manager had replied wishing to know on what authority Mr Mann had taken it upon himself to state that the Society were aiders and abettors in the action referred to; and in reply was referred to a paragraph in the Paisley newspaper of 15th July 1883, in which the Co-operative Baking Society, Kinning Park, was published as one of the abettors. Mr Mann had no doubt that the statement was correct, and warned the Society that it was necessary to attend to his former letter at once to save future trouble. The Bakery board replied to threat by threat. If any further communication was received from Mr Mann, the matter was to be put into the hands of the Society’s law agent, who was to raise an action against him for trying to extort money on false pretences, as the Society had never paid any money to assist in the “Right of Way” case. Nothing more seems to have been heard of the subject, for nothing further appears in the minutes regarding it.
In August 1887 the building committee, having completed their labours, were thanked for their services, and dissolved. The buildings, plant, and stocks in the new bakery were insured for £16,000, while the buildings and plant in St James Street were insured for £2,000. About this time the directors were called on to consider some grievances under which the employees, and particularly the vanmen, alleged that they suffered. The first of those had reference to attendance at the stables on Sundays. The committee made investigations, and came to the conclusion that no grievance was suffered. Attendance on Sundays to look after the comfort of the horses was not work, they decided, but an act of mercy, which was not paid for anywhere. The other grievance—that the vanmen by the nature of their work did not get regular holidays “and had no opportunity of going to the coast with their families”—the directors thought well founded, and they decided to allow three consecutive days to each man in future, in addition to the holidays they at present received; stipulating, however, that no two men were to be on holiday at the same time.