Provisions Affecting Soldiers and Sailors.
If a soldier is alleged to be the father of the child, action must be taken while he is in England or Wales. In Scotland and Ireland the bastardy laws are different, and if he is abroad or under orders to go abroad action cannot be taken. The summons should be served on his commanding officer, with a sufficient payment to cover his journey to and from the court where his case is to be heard. Before the war the alimony granted to the mother for a child by a soldier was even less than in ordinary cases; this injustice has, however, been ended and the allowance now granted for an illegitimate child is 6/8 per week.
FOOTNOTES:
[235:1] The word illegitimacy is derived from the Latin illegitimus, meaning "not in accordance with law."
[235:2] The bastardy laws in Scotland and Ireland are different from the English laws, and therefore the figures for these countries are not given.
[235:3] First half-year.
Transcriber's Note:
Variations in hyphenation have been left as in the original. Examples include: