It was thought advisable to redeem the casualty of superiority over the
subjects at Hampden Park belonging to the club. No casualty could be
demanded during the lifetime of Henry Erskine Gordon, Esq., of Aikenhead.
The present superior, Mr. W. M. Buchan, had been seen by Mr. C. B. Miller,
the secretary, on several occasions, and that gentleman had indicated his
willingness to commute the casualty to a feu duty of £45 per annum,
redeemable at any time at the option of the club at thirty years' purchase.
The sub-committee appointed to deal with this matter were empowered to
obtain expert advice on the subject. Mr. J. A. Craigie, advocate, was
consulted, with the result that the committee decided that the superiority
should be acquired by the club and converted into an annual feu duty.
Although the club were proprietors of Hampden Park, there existed an untaxed
casualty of superiority over certain lands in the district, including
Hampden Park. It was desirable to acquire the casualty over the part of the
ground owned by the club. Mr. Buchan, at first, demanded the redemption of
the casualty over Hampden Park for a cash payment of £1,500 or a feu duty of
£60, then £1,200 or a feu duty of £42, and duplication every nineteenth
year, without giving the club the option of purchasing the feu duty at a
capitalised value. After considerable negotiation, all was finally arranged
on 26th September, 1905, and the sub-committee's ultimatum of £40 feu duty
without duplication, and the option of purchase at any time at thirty years'
purchase, was accepted. The feu duty of £40 was unaffected by either the
death of Mr. H. E. Gordon, the proprietor, who had sold the ground to the
Queen's Park, or by the Companies Acts, which provide that a corporation
must pay casualties every twenty-five years. The memorandum of agreement
between the club and the superior was duly signed, and the subcommittee
thanked, and discharged. |