1900.] MATHEWS—THE AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES. 559 
parts of Australia necessitated migrations in search of water, and 
this furnishes another factor in the wide distribution of the people. 
In process of time the original race was followed by hostile tribes 
of a more advanced type and possessing a higher degree of culture. 
Depressions and elevations of the land due to volcanic agencies and 
other disturbances of the earth’s crust, and the consequent incur- 
sions of the sea, would in the interval have effected changes in the 
relative position of sea and land, and have completely altered the 
boundaries of continents and oceans. The connection between 
Australia, Asia, Lemuria and Africa had been more or less sub- 
merged, but there was still a comparatively uninterrupted land- 
route between India and Australia via Ceylon, Nicobar and 
Andaman Islands, Malay Peninsula, Java, Borneo, Celebes and 
Timor. 
The second migration, like the first, would continue to march 
into Australia in small detached bands for a long period. In cases 
where the two races met and came into conflict in regard to the 
possession of country or otherwise, the new people, being better 
equipped for warfare, would subjugate the local inhabitants—the 
autochthonous race—and the customs, dialects and ceremonies of 
the latter would be assimilated or to some extent superseded by 
those of their conquerors. In this way most of the mainland of 
Australia was overrun by the invaders, but they did not reach 
Tasmania, because it had by that time become an island owing to 
the submergence of a tract of land now occupied by Bass’ Strait. 
There is nothing unreasonable in the assumption that these in- 
vaders and the native tribes of the southern portion of India are 
the descendants of a common stock—the Australians, owing to their 
long isolation, having retained the primitive character of their Nean- 
derthaloid ancestors, while the later Indian tribes have attained a 
higher grade of evolution. Philologists have, however, failed to 
definitely connect the Australian tongues with the wild races of 
Southern India. 
The Malay race, in my opinion, never invaded any part of Aus- 
tralia. During historic times they visited the northern coast in 
canoes or catamarans for the purpose of fishing for trepang, but 
their intercourse with the Australians was restricted to the coast and 
was very slight. Even if a few individuals occasionally intermarried 
with the Australians and went inland among the tribes, they made 
no deep impression either upon the race or the language. 
