to obtain the supply from the Apothecaries Company : by this I feel assured.
a far greater saving will be effected by purchasing them at any private establishment.
The proposition of Colonial surgeon to which I refer shows that a great saving of expense may be looked for if it is carried out, at the same time that the efficiency of his Department would be greatly augmented. I observe by the scheme of expenditure contemplated by that officer that he estimates the expense of medicines and that the sum total of the proposed establishment, cost of medicines, etc., does not amount to more than two thirds of what was paid for medicines alone to the Hong Kong Dispensary for the month of July last; and the outlay on the part of the Government will be still further reduced by stoppages from the sick.
The first cost of drugs, with some few exceptions, will be found to be almost nominal, the prices at which they are resold being enhanced in proportion to the expenses of the chemist, as an example illustrative of which I would remark that Dr. Massey fixes the probable cost of Medicines at $35 and wages of the dispenser at $30, thus nearly doubling their actual cost. It is obvious therefore that prices at an expensive establishment like ... are ... ;
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