Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 1.djvu/844



or the hospital surgeon of senior appointment with a separate army, or in a separate district, with the consent of the general and commander in chief, or the officer commanding a separate army, may require the attendance of such surgeons or surgeons’ mates, as, in his opinion, can be with safety so withdrawn from their regiments.

. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the physician-general, with two or more hospital surgeons, to frame a system of directions relative to the description of patients to be admitted into the hospitals; to the means of promoting cleanliness in the hospitals; to the prevention of idleness, skulking and gambling in the hospitals; to the prevention of the spread of infectious distempers in the camps and hospitals, and the government of nurses, and all others charged with the care of the sick, in camps or hospitals, subject in the first instance to the approbation and revision of the commander in chief, the commander of a separate army, or in a separate district as the case may be, and eventually to the approbation and control of the President of the United States: Provided always, that the said directions, having received the sanction of the commander in chief, or the commander of a separate army, shall be operative, and remain in full force, unless altered or annulled by the President of the United States.

. And be it further enacted, That the compensations of the said several officers shall be as follows: Of the physician-general, one hundred dollars pay per month, and fifty dollars per month, which shall be in full compensation for forage, rations and travelling expenses: of the purveyor, one hundred dollars pay per month, in full compensation for his services and all expenses: of the apothecary-general, eighty dollars pay per month, and thirty dollars per month in full compensation for forage, rations and all expenses: of each of his deputies, fifty dollars pay per month, and sixteen dollars per month in full compensation for forage, rations and all expenses: of each hospital surgeon, eighty dollars pay per month, and forty dollars per month in full compensation for forage, rations and all expenses: of each mate, thirty dollars pay per month, and twenty dollars per month in full compensation for forage, rations and all expenses: of each steward, twenty-five dollars pay per month, and eight dollars per month in full compensation for forage, rations and all expenses. Provided, that none of the officers aforesaid shall be entitled to any part of the pay or emoluments aforesaid, until they shall respectively be called into actual service.

. And be it further enacted, That for the accommodation of the sick of the army and navy of the United States, the physician-general and hospital surgeon of senior appointment, with the approbation of the general commanding the army within the district where he shall be, shall have power to provide temporary hospitals; and the physician-general, with the approbation of the President of the United States, shall have power to provide and establish permanent hospitals.

. And be it further enacted, That all the said officers and others shall, as touching their several offices and duties, be liable to the rules and regulations for the government and discipline of the army; and shall be bound to obey, in conformity with law and the usages and customs of armies, the orders and directions of the chief military officers of the respective armies, and within the respective districts in which they shall respectively serve and be.

. And be it further enacted, That the physician-general, or in his absence, the senior medical officer, with the approbation of the commander in chief, or commanding officer of a separate army, be, and hereby is authorized and empowered, as often as may be judged necessary, to call a medical board, which shall consist of three senior medical officers then present, whose duty it shall be to examine all