Again in September of the same year a request that the Baking Society’s travellers should be withdrawn from England was received from the Wholesale Society, but this the directors refused to do. Instead of withdrawing, two additional representatives were appointed in the following year, and, some time later, Mr Forshaw, the Society’s traveller in the East of Scotland, was sent on a visit to Newcastle-on-Tyne and Gateshead, which resulted in good orders being received and shortly afterwards in Newcastle-on-Tyne Society joining the Federation. At the quarterly meeting, which was held on 2nd September 1899, the rules of the Federation were altered to permit societies which were not customers for loaf bread to become members on taking out not less than fifty shares in the Federation, and at the same meeting it was agreed to raise the value of the shares from 15/ to 20/ each. The date of the quarterly meetings was altered from the first Saturday to the third Saturday of the month, and the basis of membership was altered so that, instead of a second delegate being allotted for £160 of purchases, the purchases of the largest society, divided by fifty, formed the basis of representation. It was also agreed that in future the balance-sheet be issued half-yearly instead of quarterly. THE SOCIETY AND ITS EMPLOYEES. Hitherto the relations of the Society with its employees had been cordial, but with the growth of the Operative Bakers’ Trade Union restrictions began to be applied which sometimes worked a little unfairly against the Society, particularly in its competition with firms in which the bakers were not well organised. The directors always came to an amicable arrangement with the Union, however. A rather remarkable decision by the Union is referred to in the minute of 19th August 1898, which states that “A deputation from the Bakers’ Union had waited on us anent our foreman having suspended thirty men for two half-days. This had been done owing to our stock accumulating, and this was explained to the deputation, who stated that the Union preferred the dismissal of men and jobbers taken on when required.” The minute proceeds, “Although this was much against the wish of the committee, they had no alternative but to dismiss eight men from the smallbread department.” The question was raised at the next quarterly meeting, and the chairman somewhat amplified the statement contained in the minute by stating that the difficulty had been with the biscuit bakers. At that season of the year, the trade in hand-made biscuits went down owing to the holiday season, and as it was not desirable that these biscuits should be kept too long in stock the foreman had suspended the men for two afternoons. The usual procedure was to do the pastry in the mornings and the biscuits in the afternoons, and the foreman thought it better to suspend the men than to do without the services of any of them. The Union pointed out that their