Star.
London, England, 1808-04-21 00:00:00

FIFTII REPORT.

OP THE cOMMISSIONEES APPOINTED TO ENQUIRE AND
IR/I-WINK INTO THE PUBLIC EIPENDITUKE.

ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT.
THE EXPENDITURE,
( Cowin:ail from she STA* of yesterday.)
The enquiry respecting the prices charged for the
articles in the Apothecary General's bills has cer-
tainly occupied more of our attention than either of
those respecting the quality of the articles, or the
packing of them ; because in these it was to be ex-
pected that the loss to the public could have been
partial only, whilst the prices charged affect the whole
supply.
The prices for the articles furnished from the army
elaboratory, 44 are fixed," Mr. Clarke says, " entirely
liy himself, as a trading account ;" and to the ques-
tion, whether he considered the Apothecary General
as entitled, under his patent, to a greater profit than
any other persons would derive in the usual course of
trade, from transacting the same business ?" he an-
swered, that ‘‘ he considered him entitled to fair
profits in comparison with a similar account ; that he
knew of no other (Service) than that of the Navy sup-
plied by the Apothecary's Company ' • and that, with
a proper compensation for the difference of credit
taken by the two Services, he did not consider the
Patent as conveying more than the exclueve privi-
lege of supplying Medicines, &c. to the Army'
This means to admit, we presume, that the
Apothecary General's prices are to be regulated by
the fair market price at the period of the account,
which price is, of course, affected by the risk and
delay of payment : and, with this impression, we have
considered the snbject.
The Physician General, who states it to be his duty
to examine the prices for medicines (the Surgeon Gene.
ral examines those for surgical articles) charged in
the account, " ascertains," he says, " that they are
fair and raisonable, by informing himself beforehand
of the market prices, and of the charges made by the
Apothecaries Company ; and in checking the charges,
he takes into consideration the great variations which
occur in the prices of medicines." But he has never
ascertained the market price by advertising for ten-
ders to supply certain medicines.
In estimating the profit which he intends to allow
the Apothecary General, Sir Lucas Pepys considers
ten per cent. on an average, as a reasonable profit.
But he afterwards said, "-We (meaning himself and
the Surgeon General) have no rule to guide us in
allowing for the delay of payment : we allow gene-
rally more than ten per cent. in order to cover that
delay."
The Surgeon General considers himself as respon-
sible for the surgical articles in the Apothecary Ge-
neral's bills ; " the prices of which he ascertains," he
says, "by comparing them with those of other people,
and he allows a reasonable profit, with the consider.
ation of the length of time the Apothecary General
lies out of his money."
That we might learn with what attention and effect
this examination of the Apothecary General's bills
was executed, we asked Mr. Clarke, whether an ex-
planation had ever been required of him relative to
any charge in his accounts ; and we procured from
the Treasury the certified accounts for the years 1804

and 1/405.
Mr. Clarke admitted that some prices were objec-
ted to in the account for the year 1796, by the then
Surgeon General (Mr. towing) and the present
Physician General, which were referred to the Comp-
trollers, who applied to' the Apothecaries Company
for the prices charged to the Navy at the same period,
when the prices of the Apothecary General were al-
lowed to be fair, and were admitted. Mr. Clarke
afterwards added to his answer, that at times, the
Physician and Surgeon General have objected to
prices, which have been explained: " in some few
instances some abatement has been made, in others
they havo been perfectly satisfied with the explana-
tions." And in the letter of Mr. Clarke, addressed
to Sir Lucas Pepys in 1797, and communicated to us
from the Army Medical Office, he says, " that it
was upon a fair comparison with similar accounts (by
express order of the Lords of the Treasury) the
charges being found to be not only equitable, but mo-
derate, that the Bill of 1796, alluded to in his evi-
-1 dence, was ordered to be paid without deduction.
It appears, however, that Sir Lucas Pepys the Phy-
sician-General, and Mr. Gunning the Surgeon-Gene.
rali were not satisfied with this determination—for, in
a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, they say
"'The Lords of h billreasury have ordered payment
of the half-yearly ll from the Army Elaboratory,
amounting to fifty-four thousand pounds, without any
deduction, thoogh we not only expressed our disap-
probation of the charges of the bill in question to the
Lords of the Treasury, but positively declared to the
Comptrollers of Army Accounts, that the bill was
exorbitant ;" and they add, " on this occasion we feel
ourselves called upon to appeal to the First Lord of
the Treasury, as this part of the Army Accounts has
always been• examined and passed by the Physician
General add Surgeon General, who, if they do their
duty, must check exorbitant charges." And in a
note, dated 17th April, 1797, to Mr. Clarke, from the
same Gentlemen, they state, that they had returned
him the next half-year's bill of the Apothecary Gene-
ral, without any- examination or approbation of its
contents, as they had received no direction from the
First Lord of the Treasury, to whom they had ap-
plied a considerable time ago to know whether the
controul over the Bill should, or should not, be vest-
ed in them : they add, that they had hitherto consi-
dered this as a part of their duty, and had endea-
voured to do justice to the Apothecary General, and
at the same ume to the public.
This inattention to the representations of those
whose duty it was to examine the Apothecary Gene-
ral's charges, must have produced, it is to be ima-
gined, Some laxity in their future examination of his
bills. A subsequent direction of the Treasury can-
not but have caused a still more vague and unsatis-
factory mode of fixing the prices of the articles. By
this, the Physician and Surgeon General were in-
structed, in checking the charges, to pay attention to
the delay in the payment to the Apothecary General.
We wished to have seen the letter, or order, au-
thoriving,this mode of proceeding. But on applica-
tion to the Army Medical Office for it, it is stated
to ys, that, after the most diligent search, it could
Apt. found, it being suppsed to hale been lost,