DR. BARBARA SUTHERLAND'S PAPER 403 



and inability to pay the employer's contribution 

 during such times. Frequently it has happened that 

 the person offers to pay arrears when claiming mater- 

 nity benefit in the belief that sickness and maternity 

 benefit are on an equal footing with regard to pay- 

 ment of contributions in arrears ; but in the case of 

 maternity benefit the necessary number of contribu- 

 tions must have been paid before the child is born 

 and the claim for benefit not made until after the 

 birth, so that it is impossible to have arrears at the 

 time of claiming. 



Eight cases still remain. Three of these insured 

 persons were deposit contributors, who had not been 

 insured for the necessary length of time, while 2 were 

 voluntary contributors not yet insured for fifty-two 

 weeks. In 2 more cases the insured persons, one of 

 them an unmarried woman, did not claim benefit, and 

 in the final case the insurance card and book had 

 been lost, and no effort made to replace them, as the 

 name of the Society was forgotten. The insured 

 person in this case was a mentally defective un- 

 married woman. 



The following is the summary of the above 56 

 cases, where at least one parent was insured and no 

 benefit received : 



In arrears with payment ... ... ... ... 32 



Deposit contributors, not insured for 26 weeks ... 3 



Voluntary ,, ,, 52 ... 2 



Benefit not claimed ... 2 



Card and book lost, Society unknown ... ... i 



No information ... ... ... ... ... 16 



56 



In turning next to the larger class of 137 cases 

 where neither parent was insured, the most striking 

 point is that, in the majority of cases, there seems to 

 be no adequate reason why the persons should not 



