i r 4 MINUTES OF EVIDENCE BEFORE SELECT COMMITTEE hospital and the prisons of Dublin?— Not having the data before me, I cannot ntt* 3111 s ' rwt1 the Tt ten dan c e at this hospital performed gratuitously ?-- Certainly not; originally it was, because the funds of the hospital did not then admit of remune- ration', and physicians would not refuse to act gratuitously did a public chanty 1C What is the rate of charge made by the apothecary, is it fixed or is it variable? — I can submit to the Committee a table showing his rate of charges, compared with the ordinary charges of Dublin, as made by apothecaries against the general description of patients; and I will specify a few, in order that the Committee may jud^ e of the reasonableness or unreasonableness of his charges. When pills are ordered to a certain amount, say twelve, the ordinary charges for twelve pills is 2 5. 2d., and that was the charge made by the apothecary in former years; the charge made by the apothecary " at present and of late years is gd. only; and where, the ordinary charge is 2s. 6d. he charges only 15; for a blister, either to the chest or to the back, for which the ordinary charge is from 2 s. 2d. to 4s. 4d. his charge is but is. 4d. Are the charges usually in the same proportion ?— All the charges are in the same proportion ; considerably less in general than one- half. Can you show by references to former years, that the apothecary's charges are considerably decreased ?— I can state by reference to former years, that when the number of sick must have been not one- fourth of the present amount, the medical charges often exceeded 300a year; as for example, in the year 1807 they amounted to 415 I.; and in the year 1788, when there were very few prisoners, they amounted to 209/. What are the checks in passing the presentments for the apothecary?— In the first place the apothecary on delivering his account makes an affidavit in these words under the head of medicines, he swears: I, A. B., apothecary of the said city, do make oath that the aforegoing articles and medicines amounting to pounds were furnished by me, and so on, and that they were genuine ; he swears as to the genuineness and the rate of charge made by him ; and with respect to neces- saries he makes oath that he has actually expended the sum for necessaries ordered for the patients in the different gaols, and that the charges are what he paid ; the only remuneration that he receives for the advance of his money is 20/. a year allowed him by the statute. Besides his own oath, his accounts regularly come before me, and they cannot be laid before the grand jury without a voucher on my part as to the articles being ordered, and also with respect to the prices, and as to the amount. When I was putting up my papers I met with an account of the apothecary's, the whole of which he was obliged to alter merely in consequence of a certificate of mine at the foot of it, showing the accuracy with which the whole is checked. [ The witness produced the account to the Committee.] Does not Mr. Craven, as a grand juror, assist in passing his own accounts?— Mr. Craven did in former years act as a grand juror; but to my knowledge he has not been 011 the grand jury for several years. Can you show any check exercised by the grand jury on the apothecary's accounts?— They have spoken to me, even when lie himself has been on the jury, about the nature and amount of his charges, and the court, as has been already mentioned has sent his bills to be taxed; I will venture to say there has been a greater facility in passing his accounts since he ceased to be a grand juror than betore. 0 J • Dr \ 0U e" t ® r, t. ain any objection to contracting with an apothecary for the supply- ing of the Dublin prisons with medicines at so much per year ?— Undoubtedly 1 should, because I teel quite confident that no person could offer fairly to contract or the prisons except a person who was in the habit of supplying them, and who therefore knew the amount of supply; and that any person who offered at a certain rate to supply the prisons, would pay himself by adulterated medicines; and I can dlnf; / sa. tlstactory mode in which I have been able to conduct the medical a rhP, mei! ' cons! 5ts.^ eatly in the confidence of always having genuine medicines, the nSn„ T WhlCh , haS contnbuted not a Httle to the prevention of mortality in were not aen ^ lnStan° 6 in which 1 have supposed that the articles Are you on very intimate terms with the apothecary ?_ I must know him well, but