Meantime the second year had ended with the position of the Society improving. The sales had amounted to over £9,000, and a dividend of sixpence had been paid each quarter. Stock and buildings were valued at £1,370, while the members held £279 in share capital and £709 in loans. The nucleus of a reserve fund had been formed, and the property of the Society had been depreciated by £150. It is interesting to note also that with the beginning of the second year the Society had begun to pay bonus on wages, a practice which has continued without intermission ever since. The beginning was humble—the amount paid in this first year was only £20, 17s.—but it marked the recognition of the principle that the worker was something more than a mere hireling; that he was a being who had something to do with the making of profits, and therefore had a right to share in them. The committee continued unremitting in their attempts to extend the trade of the Society. Every complaint was inquired into closely, and every little while a deputation was sent to one or other of the societies with the view of inducing them to become members or to extend their trade. It is interesting to note also that the cost of flour, which had been 31/ in May 1869, had advanced to 41/ in April 1871. The first quarter of the third year was a decidedly successful one, as it showed a surplus over cost which enabled a dividend of one shilling per pound of sales to be declared. The membership had increased to 14, and the turnover to 102 sacks per week, an increase of 11 sacks per week in one quarter. At the end of this quarter Mr Barclay retired from the presidency, after having held that position for fifteen months, and Mr Donald Cameron, Thornliebank, was elected to the chair. At the following quarterly meeting it was agreed that, in future, tickets, with a programme of business for the quarterly meeting, be sent to the societies. Before the end of the year a building in Park Street, adjoining the Society’s premises, came on the market, and was purchased by the Society for £735. At the same time the building of other two ovens was undertaken, thus bringing the capacity of the bakery up to eight ovens. The building which was purchased was in use as an engineering workshop, rented at £67, 10s. per annum, and the purchase price included an engine and boiler.