Star.
London, England, 1808-04-19 00:00:00

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vrat articles Were met4.ved as conesigtle4 11 reeei‘ets
from the Regiinentil.Statgeons de principal Medical
Officers :. and they state, that regulations had. been
made from time td time by the W Offite,- which,
although not entirely successful, had Tat itt• a great
measure produced the desires) effect.. And in a,
statement made by the comptrollers to, the Conte
mittce of Finance in 1797, they say# that the Apo-
thecary General's bills are fully investigated by them,
aftd the computations checked; and that information
is obtained from the Company of Apothecaries, and
from eminent Druggists, of the prices of different ar-
ticks during the period of the account : and they state,
that the regulations and checks in respect of the Army
Medical Expenditure seem to be effectual. considering
that the only circumstance which might be thought
to require a farther voucher, was an actual receipt of
the several articles by the persons, and for the use of
e Regiments or Hospitals for which they were or-
'tiered ; for that the certificates annexed to the Apo:
thecary Genessas bill only ascertains that the Secre-
tary at War is satisfied that the articles had been for-
warded to their respective destinations, according to
give the directions give to the Apothecary General.
• In consequence the suggestions of the Commit-
tee of Finance, some further measures might be
necessary for checking the Expenditure in the De-
partment of the Apothecary General, the Secretary
at War required him to deliver vouchers with his fu-
ture bills, of the actual receipt of the articles by the
persons for whom they were ordered. The Apothe-
cary General, in answer to this requisition, stated
" the impracticability of his carrying into effect the
plan alluded to, from the various circumstances
which attend Regiments on, and those suddenly or-
dered for foreign service, of armies on distant and se-
cret service, and of captures by the enemy and losses
at sea: and he submitted, that Government, being
their own carriers, he virtually and legally fulfils his
duty when he delivers the stores at such places as. are
pointed out by the War Office."
The-Comptrollers, to whom it had been referred in
the same year to report to the Treasury what vouchers
they thought it would be most proper to require, in
order to ascertain the actual delivery of the medicines,
&c. for the use of Regiments and Hospitals, appear
to have admitted that the duty of the Apothecary
General is performed when the medicines are delivered
to the vessels or carriers who are to convey them to
.their places of destination ; but they think that some
proof should be exhibited of their actual receipt ; and
they recommend that a certificate, signed by the Com-
manding Officer and Surgeon of every Regiment and
Corps, and by the two principal Medical Officers in
every Hospital, should be returned to the Comptrol-
lers office by the person to whom every medicine
I chcst, &c. should be addressed : they add, that such
'certificates would in general arrive at the office prior
to the final Report on the annual bills of the Apothe-
cary General.
When such certificates had arrived, they would
have afforded, no doubt, satisfactory means of check-
ing the quantities charged in the Apothecary Gene-
ral's bills. But the Comptrollers state, that payments
to the Apothecary General ought not to be retarded
for the want of them ; and, under some of the cir-
cumstances mentioned by him, it is impossible that
they could have been furnished.
We have therefore enquired what means the Public
had of knowing the quantity, as well as the quality,
of the articles charged in the Apothecary General's
bills, previous to the issue of them from his warehouse.
For until these were ascertained, there could be no
satifactory audit of his accounts ; and if these matters
were known, there ought to be no delay in the exami-
nation and 'settlement of them.
We have also enquired into the propriety of the
package of the articles furnished by the Apothecary
General ; and more particularly into the justness of
the charges made by him. The result of our inqui-
ries will be now stated.
Thg preparing, arranging, and packing of the arti-
cles, are carried on at a place in Bury-street, St.
James's, which. although called the Army Elabora-
tory, belongs to the Apothecary General, and the
business is conducted in it solely at his expence. Mr.
Calvert Clarke has the superintendance and direction
of the whole concern, and provides all the medical
and surgical stores ; and Mr. Jones has the special
superintendance of the chemical processes, and the
direction of the packing. The Apothecary General
gives these gentlemen a share of his profits, as a re-
muneration for their trouble ; but interferes himself
in no part of the busines.
The Physician General occasionally visits the
Elaboratory, which is always open to him for
,
, the purpose, and inspects the medicines and pre-
Iparations ;—but he does not superintend the pro-
cesses of the preparations, and he takes no account
of the quantity or the quality of the articles inspected
by him ; nor is any such account kept at the elabo-
ratory : and no Public Officer olyierves and takes an
account of the quantity and quality of the articles
put into the packages, or superintends the packing—
and it is latterly, and in one or two instances only,
Mr. Olarke says, that any directions have been given
from the Army Medical Office relative to the mode
of packing. Admitting, therefore, that the Physi-
cian General is fully competent to judge of the qua-
lity of all the articles provided at the elaboratory, it
appears there is no check that the articles inspected
by him are those really placed in the packages ; and
that, until the returns of examination are received
from the places to which the articles are sent for like,
there can be no vouchers for the quantity and quality
of the articles charged in the Apothecary General's
bills When medicines and medical stores are sent
to regimental hospitals at home, or to general hospi-
tals for the immediate use of such hospitals, those re-
turns may be soon obtained ; though it appears not
to be the practice of Regimental Surgeons to make
any acknowledgment of the receipt of medicines un-
til they send up the half-yeatiy, requisition for further
supply : but when what are called complete pack-
ages have been sent to the depot at the York hospital,
we learn from Mr. Hoffe, the apothecary at that hos-1.
pital, that there is no examination of them, if re-
cently received, before they are sent off for the Oft;
rent services at home and abroad—the returns, there-
for e of these, must often be long delayed. It has been
ii. these packages, as will appear hereafter, that defi-
ciencies have been observed. ' •
The quantities of the issues; and the ass:alma; of
them, are not left to the discretion of those who act
for the Apothecary General, but are resnlared bythe
orders which come from the Secretary at War, the
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