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A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875
Journals of the Continental Congress --TUESDAY, JULY 23, 1782
On the report of a committee, consisting of Mr. [Joseph] Montgomery, Mr. [Abraham] Clark, and Mr. [David] Ramsay, to whom were re-committed their report respecting the hospital department, and the amendments and observations thereon by the Secretary at War:
Resolved, That in conducting the business of the general hospital, there shall be an invariable standard of prices established by which the apothecary shall be charged with every article (received into his department, and at which he shall be credited for every article)2 he shall issue the standard to be established by the medical board, or such person or persons as they shall appoint, which shall only be considered as a certain ratio whereby to keep the accounts; but that, in the settlement of all accounts in that department, all deficient articles, not issued or returned, shall be accounted for at Such real value as shall be estimated by the medical board, and approved of by the Secretary at War.
[Note 2: 2 The words in parenthesis are in the report but not in the Journal.]
An account shall be taken as soon as possible, of all the medicines, instruments and property in the apothecary's department belonging to the public, in the hands of the apothecary, the deputies, assistants, and mates, the surgeons of hospitals, and surgeons of regiments, for which they shall severally be charged at the standard value ascertained by the board as aforesaid, and for all they may hereafter receive,
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but to account for deficiencies at the real value, to be estimated as aforesaid.
The apothecary shall be accountable for all articles in his department to the purveyor throughout the states, until they come into the hands of the prescribers; and all deputies, assistants, and mates, shall make returns, and be accountable to the apothecary for the medicines, instruments and other property belonging to the public in the department, now in their hands, and of such as they may hereafter be possessed of.
The apothecary shall make up his accounts at the expiration of every year, and settle them as soon after as possible, and before the expiration of six months. He shall, at the same time, make out two returns for the director of the hospital, one specifying what has been received and issued, and the amount of what remains on hand; the other exhibiting a particular amount of the value of the medicines, and other public property, each prescriber has received within the year.
All losses which may happen by the events of war, and other circumstances unavoidable, shall be borne by the public. In cases of losses by fraud or neglect in any deputy, assistant or mate, the apothecary shall not be accountable for such losses, provided the delinquent be convicted thereof before a court-martial appointed to try the same.
The hospital prescribers shall be supplied, upon their own application, with medicines and instruments necessary for the sick and wounded under their care.
Every regimental surgeon shall receive yearly from the apothecary, a supply of medicines to such amount, by the above standard, as the medical board shall judge necessary.
Every prescribing surgeon or physician, either in hospital or with the army, shall be supplied by the apothecary with such a set of capital instruments as the medical board shall judge necessary, and shall be accountable for all losses in
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medicines and instruments not arising from the events of war and other circumstances unavoidable. Duplicates of all returns made by the apothecary to the director, shall be lodged in the war office.
Resolved, That in the army of the United States, excepting the southern army, at present under the command of Major General Greene, the offices of assistant purveyor, and assistant apothecary, and the storekeepers under the purveyor and apothecary, except one storekeeper under the purveyor to keep a store near the army, and all the clerks, except one two to the purveyor, shall hereafter be discontinued.1
[Note 1: 1 The recommitted report had it: * * * "and all the clerks except two to the purveyor one of whom to have the care of the store near the army and all the mates of the apothecary except three be hereafter discontinued."]
The committee to whom was referred the letter of the Secretary of War respecting the rank of the surgeons in the hospital department submit the following resolutions:
That all surgeons of the hospital shall take rank after the director of the hospital, deputy director and physician to the army, in the following order, viz. those surgeons of the hospital, who have been either deputy director, physician general, surgeon general, chief physician, or chief surgeon to the hospital or army, shall take rank next to the above mentioned officers: and their relative rank to each other shall be according to the date of their respective appointments to either of the above offices.
That all such as were regimental surgeons, when appointed senior physician or surgeon to the hospital, shall take rank with such senior physicians and surgeons, agreeably to the date of their first appointment, whether to the regiment or hospital.
All surgeons, the date of whose first appointments, either to regiments or hospitals, shall have been on the same day, shall decide their rank by lot.
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That the pay and subsistance of the officers of the Hospital department and medical staff be as follows:
Director of the Hospital 122 dollars per month four rations per day for himself and servants, forego for two horses and twenty five dollars per month Subsistance.
Deputy Director and Physician each 117 dollars per month three rations per day for himself and Servants, and forage for two horses, and twenty dollars per month Subsistance.
Hospital Surgeons each 95 5/6 dollars per month two rations for himself and servant forage for two horses and fifteen dollars per month Subsistance.
Purveyor and Apothecary each 105 dollars per month, one ration and forage for one horse, and fifteen dollars per month subsistance.
Deputy purveyor and Deputy apothecary, each 105 5/6 dollars per month, one ration, and forage for one horse, and ten dollars per month Subsistance.
Hospital Mates each 45 dollars per month, one ration per day and five dollars per month Subsistance.
Stewards each 30 dollars per month, one ration per day and five dollars per month Subsistence.
Ward Master each 22 dollars per month, per month, one ration per day and three dollars per month Subsistance.
That all former Acts of Congress, so far as respects the pay Subsistance rations and forage granted to the before mentioned Officers,shall be and they are hereby repealed.1
[Note 1: 1 The recommitted report allowed 119 dollars per month to the director; 116 75/100 dollars to the deputy director and physician; 9345/90 dollars to hospital surgeons, three rations for himself and servant and 15 dollars for subsistance; 106 60/90 dollars for purveyor and apothecary.
In the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 22, folio 79, on a separate sheet, in Charles Thomson's hand, is a copy of this part of the report relating to pay and subsistence, with the following variations in amounts: deputy director 111 dollars per month; hospital surgeons 93 ½ dollars per month, three rations for himself and servant; purveyor and apothecary 106 ½ dollars per month; deputy purveyor and deputy apothecary 101 ½ dollars per month.]
[That for the more convenient subsistance of the officers of the hospital department, they be allowed, including their former allowance of rations and forage as follows:
The director of the hospital, four rations a day for himself and servants, forage for two horses, and twenty-five dollars per month subsistance.
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The deputy director and physician, each three rations a day for himself and servants, forage for two horses, and twenty dollars per month subsistence.
Hospital surgeons, each two rations per day, for himself and servant, forage for two horses, and fifteen dollars per month subsistence.
Deputy purveyor and deputy apothecary, each one ration per day, forage for one horse, and ten dollars per month subsistance.
Hospital mates, each one ration per day, and five dollars per month subsistence.
Stewards, each one ration per day, and five dollars per month subsistence.
Ward masters, each one ration per day, and three dollars per month subsistence.
That the above allowance of rations, forage, and subsistance to the officers of the hospital department, over and above what they severally were entitled to, at the time of passing this act, shall be charged to them respectively, as advances in part of their monthly pay.
That in future the pay and allowance of the purveyor and apothecary be the same each as that of a hospital surgeon.]
That none of the aforesaid officers, or other persons employed in any of the hospitals, be entitled to rations, forage or subsistence, when on furlough.
That the regulation respecting officers' servants, contained in the Act of Congress of the 11th day of March, 1780, shall not be construed to extend to the hospital department.1
[Note 1: 1 This report, in the writing of a clerk, except the part in brackets which is in Abraham Clark's writing, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 22, folios 69 and 85. The report was delivered May 15, and on May 30 was referred to the Secretary at War to confer with the Superintendent of finance to report, and recommitted. A copy of the recommitted report is in No. 22, folio 73. The few changes made in their report by the Committee are noted. The portion in brackets was not in the recommitted report.]
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