Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 10.djvu/727

 NOTES AND ABSTRACTS ?\\

hindrance. In this same category belongs the prohibition of the remarriage of widows which is in force in most parts of the empire. An opposite influence upon the frequency of marriages is exerted by the institution of child-marriage, and by polygamy and polyandry.

An examination of the General Report of the Census of India, 1901, reveals the striking fact that the proportion of married persons to the total population is a much greater one in India than in European countries. Religious conditions go a long way toward explaining this circumstance, for among the 207,000,000 Hindoos of the empire, marriage is a religious sacrament whose omission entails lasting disgrace.

While in England only about a third of the total population is married, we find that in India 45.5 per cent, of all males and 47.6 per cent, of all females are mar- ried. Of the Hindoos a much smaller number are unmarried, and there are many more widows than among the adherents of other religions. The Buddhists show the smallest proportion of married persons, and the Christians stand second.

Of those social conditions which influence the frequency of marriage in an especial degree, child-marriage is to be mentioned in the first rank. This custom, which can in no sense be regarded as a normal product of social evolution, has taken firm root among the lower strata of the population, although among these it seems to be in imitation of the social customs of the higher castes.

There are two kinds of child-marriages to be distinguished. In the first sort, after the betrothal has taken place, the bride returns to her father's house, where she remains from three to eleven years before taking up her abode with her hus- band. Such is the common practice in northern India, and in these districts the population shows no signs of degeneration ; indeed, this is the principal recruiting ground for the Indian army.

Conditions are quite different in the lowlands, especially in the plains of the Ganges ; here the bride returns to her father's house only for the period of a week after the wedding ceremony. Unfortunately, this custom of early entrance into actual marriage seems to have been spreading. The effect is an unmistakable degeneration of the population of the provinces where the custom prevails.

Among the Hindoos, out of every 1,000 girls from ten to fifteen years of age there were only 511 unmarried, and of those fifteen to twenty years of age only 141. Among the Buddhists child-marriages are most rare ; especially in Burma, where this class forms a great majority, it is almost unknown. The very high percentage of widows in the districts where child-marriages are most common is accounted for by the fact that the husbands are ordinarily considerably older than the wives.

Polygamy is not widely practiced in India ; this is apparent in the fact that for every 1,000 married men there are only 1,011 married women. Among the Hindoos the figures fall to 1,008 married women to 1,000 married men ; among the Buddhists, 1,007; while among the fetich-worshiping or animistic tribes it rises to 1,034 to 1,000.

In India there are two forms of polyandry practiced. According to the first, a woman is united to two or more men who are not necessarily related. The descent is traced on the maternal side. The other form is the fraternal, in which case a woman is simultaneously the wife of several brothers, and the children are mem- bers of the father's clan, and inheritance takes place in the male line. Matriarchal polyandry is today confined to the Todas of Nilgiri, the Najars, and some of the inhabitants of the Malabar coast. Fraternal polyandry is still more or less common among the Himalaya tribes from Kashmir to eastern Assam, and in a few other districts. H. FEHLINGER, " Indische Ehwerhaltnisse," Zeitschrift ftir Socialwis- senschaft, November, 1904. E. B. W.

The Ethics of Gambling. Gambling is the determination of the ownership of property by appeal to chance. It may be described as " pure " or " mixed," according as the determining power of chance is or is not blended with other powers. A certain element of skill and knowledge enters into most games of chance, but where genuine " tips " are given the operation is fraudulent ; all gamesters denounce betting on " certainties." When the result is controlled by