MADRAS IN 1714, 



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omnia." But the Indian is not the Patriarchal Family of 

 Maine (Village Communities, 15): " a group of men and women, 

 children and slaves, of animate and inanimate property, all 

 connected together by subjection to the Paternal Power of the 

 chief of the household." In Rome there was law, and conse- 

 quently the " Paternal Power " was a real thing: in India, in 

 Father Bouchet's time, law was unknown, and the only power 

 resident in the manager of a family was what he derived 

 from the fears and hopes of those whom he fed, clothed and 

 supported in complete idleness. That power, I imagine, 

 wanes daily under the influence of our courts and legal enact- 

 ments, and possibly in the course of a few generations the 

 ancient institution of the Indian " undivided family " will 

 utterly perish. It has had its uses, doubtless has done good 

 of a kind ; but it is incompatible with what is called progress, 

 and with the modern impatience of authority. 



The 4th maxim is: " Les enfans adoptifs entrent egalement 

 dans le partage des biens avec les enfans des peres et meres 

 qui les ont adoptez." Often a childless man adopted one of 

 his relatives. The act was done in the following manner. 

 An assembly of relatives was held in his house, and a large 

 copper dish was brought in, in which to place the child's legs, 

 or (if he could) make him stand up. Then the husband and 

 wife stood up and spoke as thus : " We hereby inform you 

 that, having no child, we wish to adopt this one. We choose 

 him for our child in this wise, that our goods shall belong to 

 him henceforth as if he were actually born of us. He has 

 now nothing to hope for from his own father. In token 

 whereof we are about to drink saffron water, if you consent." 

 Those present consented by a movement of the head. Then 

 the husband and wife stooped down, and poured saffron water 

 over the legs of the child, and what was left in the vase they 

 drank. A deed styled a " Manchinircani chitou" was drawn 

 up, to evidence the act, and signed by witnesses, and the act 



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