OF ARTS AND SCIENCES: FEBRUARY 11, 1868. 451 



It will be observed that the several collateral lines are merged 

 in the lineal line, by means of which the posterity of my brothers and 

 sisters, and of my collateral relatives, become my posterity. This is a 

 fundamental characteristic of the classificatory system. In the Hawaiian 

 no b'ood relatives, however remote in degree, can fall without the 

 relationship of grandparent, grandchild, brother, or sister. The sys- 

 tem, nevertheless, is clearly defined, and is founded upon a knowledge 

 of the degrees of relationship, numerically, by means of which the 

 classification is perfected. When the Ganowanian and Turanian forms 

 are compared with the Hawaiian, and the principles of each are under- 

 stood, it will be seen that poverty of language has nothing whatever to 

 do with the latter system. The relationships which seem to be unreal 

 and arbitrary may be found, in the sequel, to be those actually existing 

 when the system was formed. 



In the Hawaiian there are five grades of relatives, as follows : My- 

 self, my brothers and sisters, and my first, second, third, and more 

 remote cousins, are the first grade. These are my brothers and sisters 

 without distinction. My father and mother and their brothers and sis- 

 ters, together with their several cousins, as before, are the second grade. 

 These, without distinction, are my parents. My grandfather and his 

 brothers and sisters, and my grandmother and her brothers and sisters, 

 on the father's side and on the mother's side, together with their sev- 

 eral cousins, as before,'are the third grade. These are my grand- 

 parents. Below me, my sons and daughters and their several cousins 

 are the fourth grade. These are my children. My grandsons and 

 granddaughters, and their several cousins, are the fifth grade. These 

 are my grandchildren.* The Hawaiian system now realizes the nine 

 grades of relations of the Chinese (conceiving them reduced to. five) 

 more perfectly than the Chinese itself does at the present time. An 

 ancient Chinese author remarks as follows : — 



" All men born into the world have nine ranks of relatives. My 

 own generation is one grade ; my father's is one; my grandfather's is 

 one ; that of my grandfather's father is one ; and that of my grand- 

 father's grandfather is one ; thus above me are four grades. My son's 

 generation is one grade ; my grandson's is one ; that of my grandson's 

 son is one; and that of my grandson's grandson is one ; thus below me 

 are four grades of relations : including myself in the estimate, there are 

 in all nine grades. These are brethren ; and although each grade be- 



* All the individuals of the same grade are brothers and sisters to each other. 



