At the meeting of the committee which was held on 17th January 1874 the overdrawing by the Ironworks of their account with the Wholesale Society was referred to. It was stated that the amount overdrawn was £9,000. A lengthy conversation took place as to the advisability of having a more thorough check upon the transactions of the Bakery manager so as to prevent the possibility of a like occurrence; but, after the matter had been discussed in all its bearings and various plans had been suggested, no definite decision was arrived at, except that the finance committee were instructed to make a regular inspection of the books and use every means to ascertain the real position of the Society. The delegates to the Wholesale meeting had also reported that it had been agreed by that society to charge 5 per cent. on overdue accounts after a certain date. This was going to hit the Baking Society heavily, and the committee expressed the opinion that they should not be liable as they were only receiving half bonus. There is no reason given, however, why they should be receiving only half bonus, as they had become members of the Wholesale Society quite a long time previously. Bridge of Weir and Kilbarchan societies were admitted members of the Federation, but the admission of Milngavie Society was held over for a further period. It was decided in February 1874 to recommend the delegates to the quarterly meeting to amend the rule relating to the representation of societies on the committee, as it was thought that with the increase in the number of the societies who were members of the Federation the committee was becoming unwieldy because of its size. From the beginning each society which joined the Federation had been entitled to be represented on the committee. There were now twenty societies in the Federation, and, although the average attendance at a committee meeting was about fourteen, the more the membership of the Federation was added to the larger the committee would become. After having been considered by the societies for a year, the recommendation of the committee was agreed to, and the membership of the committee was fixed at twelve—president, secretary, treasurer, and nine representatives of societies.