In the context of developing industry in the west of Scotland during the nineteenth century, the production of iron, coal and the means of transporting these commodities from place to place were strongly related areas of interest. Matters concerned with the arbitration of disputes over terms and wages on the part of the Scottish pig iron traders, iron masters and coal-owners and the demurrage and the use of the railways, were administered centrally by a firm of Glasgow solicitors, Bishop, Milne Boyd & Co .
From at least 1899-1920 , James Bishop held the position of secretary to the various constituent bodies of the Scottish Iron & Coal Masters Association . These included the Board of Conciliation for the Regulation of Wages in the Pig Iron Trade of Scotland, the Scottish Manufacturing Iron Trade Conciliation and Arbitration Board, the Mining Association of Great Britain (in Scotland) and the Coal Owners of Scotland (based at 100 Wellington Street Glasgow). By 1942 , Thomas Petrie and James Sweeny were acting joint-secretaries. In 1970 , the firm of Bishop, Milne Boyd & Co moved to 133 St Vincent Street.
From the guide to the Records of Scottish Iron & Coal Masters Association, employers' association, Glasgow, Scotland, 1847-1965, (Glasgow University Archive Services)
