232 Marred by Speculation. 



and affinity. That system is classificatory ; it 

 groups all individuals of the same generation into 

 a class and calls them children, or parents, or 

 grandchildren, or grandparents, without further 

 distinction than that of sex. Now, it must be ad 

 mitted that Morgan s hypothesis satisfies the first 

 condition of any hypothesis : it is sufficient to 

 account for the facts. But when we ask if it 

 is in itself a probable assumption, or if taking 

 promiscuity as established this form of family 

 was likely to succeed it, it is impossible to an 

 swer in the affirmative. &quot;We must therefore seek 

 a more probable explanation of the facts repre 

 sented by the Malayan system than the consan 

 guine family affords. A natural supposition is 

 that the Malayan system of relationship arose 

 solely from a poverty of language among savages. 

 Some qualification will, however, be necessary in 

 this hypothesis, since Morgan tells us that many of 

 these languages are rich in discriminating terms 

 of address. There is one word for brother or 

 sister when a younger is addressing an elder, 

 and another in the converse case. It must there 

 fore be admitted that their concrete terms, of 

 daily and hourly use, are abundant and emi 

 nently significant. But may we not assume that 

 abstract terms of relationship are scanty ? Is not 





