A large--perhaps, a surprisingly
large--number of the Dispensary doctors are earnest and self-sacrificing
men; but the system is corrupted by one radical defect. Owing to the
security of private practice involved, there is a fierceness of
competition for these appointments out of all proportion to their
financial value. The elections are made by the Guardians, and it is a
fact so notorious as even to be acknowledged by Mr. Birrell that
flagrant canvassing and bribery are a common feature of these elections.
Candidates have been known to distribute sums of L400 or L500 to
Guardians, in order to secure appointments of L150 or L160 a year.
Another serious and extending feature of the present system is the
boycotting by the Guardians of all candidates who have not graduated at
the new Roman Catholic University. The most highly qualified men from
the University of Dublin have now practically abandoned competition for
these Dispensary offices outside the Protestant counties of Ulster.
Moreover, throughout the whole country local candidates are consistently
preferred to superior men from outside.
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