The Evening Star. THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 1870.

Auckland Star, Volume I, Issue 184, 11 August 1870, Page 2

The Evening Star. THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 1870.

A GTiANCE into the quarterly report submitted yesterday to the Committee of the Auckland Dispensary cannot fail to arrest attention. That unassuming institution is doing a work and relieving an amount of suffering of which, we think, few citizens are aware; and, we believe, fewer still are aware of the self-sacrifice with which its funds are husbanded. During the past quarter the medical officer (Dr. Kenderdine), besides making out 1,513 prescriptions and consulting with we know not how many patients at the Dispensary, has made 663 professional visits to the homes of poor patients, and his salary has been £43 15s. or less than Is. 4d. per visit. The dispenser has provided the drugs for and compounded 1513 doses for £27 10s, ©r at less than 4|d. each prescription. This is the institution, the extravagant abuses of which have been blazoned forth by an anonymous contributor in the pages of our evening contemporary. We are told that the profits of this dispensary should be distributed among the sixteen chemists of Auckland ; and as for these 663 domiciliary visits in the quarter, and these 1513 prescriptions there are " manymedical men in Auckland who would gladly perform the work without fee or reward."

It is known to all who have taken the trouble to enquire, that the dispensing has been hawked about the city, begging to be taken. Four chemists declined it, two others could not provide the necessary room for consultations, and of two tenders only received, that of the present dispenser was the lowest. Of course a central position for the dispensary is a sine qua non, and none expects that a position in the outskirts or suburbs of Auckland would meet the requirements of the case. The wanderings of the dispensary about the city, making the circuit of all the chemists in the space of four years, as recommended by the critic, really reflects great credit on his inventive genius, and we have no doubt he has also discovered that there are many chemists in Auckland who would provide the drugs and compound all the 1500 prescriptions of the quarter, like the doctors, " without fee or reward." The dispensing, as at present performed, is certainly on the principle of a very rigid economy, and the profits to the dispenser must be such as to merit the envy of none. As to Dr. Kenderdine, his connection with the dispensary is simply one of sacrifice. He is notoriously one of the most benevolent men in the province, andhis kindness — almost gentleness to the poor patients —is not only a contrast to the traditionary character of a dispensary practice, but shows that heart as well as head is interested in the sufferers. This Is. 4d. a visit, which has evoked the reforming zeal of the exposer of the dispensary abuse, has a history of its own ; and not from one or two, but from numbers, have we heard the conviction expressed—drawn forth by the attack — that the greater portion, if not all, must be consumed in his constant habit of providing little kind comforts to the sufferers who are too poor to procure them. This is a fact so well known that we do not wonder at the indignation so generally expressed at the envious and spiteful attack on Dr. Kenderdine and his services to the dispensary.