Page:McCosh, John - Advice to Officers in India (1856).djvu/32

 his division; to collect weekly,monthly, or quarterly reports from the various medical offices; to receive and pass indents for articles wanted for the public service; to give such directions to his subordinates respecting the treatment of the sick, as he deems proper; in short, he is commanding officer on medical matters, and communicates the results to the Medical Board. But further than making temporary recommendations for the performance of duty, he is allowed no patronage.

10. SUEGEONS AND ASSISTANTS.—It is not possible to draw a distinction between the duties of surgeons and assistants, as both are for the most part independent of each other. In European regiments, every surgeon has two or three assistants under him, but by far the greater number of those enrolled as assistants hold independent charges quite as important as the surgeons. No regiment of Native Infantry has more than one surgeon or an assistant, and the duties of all civil stations are entrusted to assistants. Most civil appointments must be given up on promotion, or promotion must be given up to retain the appointment. Most staff appointments are now open to assistant-surgeons. Numerous appointments, exclusively filled by surgeons, are now filled by assistants. In fact, the greater number