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influences　which　have　not　spent　themselves　at　the　present　moment；






since　it　is　one　of　the　causes　why　the　passage　from　the　Tribal　to






the　Territorial　conception　of　Sovereignty　was　much　more　easy　and






imperceptible　in　the　modern　than　in　the　older　world。　I　have






before　stated　that　a　certain　confusion；　or　at　any　rate






indistinctness　of　discrimination；　between　consanguinity　and






common　subjection　to　power　is　traceable　among　the　rudiments　of






Aryan　thought；　and　no　doubt　the　mixture　of　notions　has　helped　to






bring　about　that　identification　of　common　nationality　with　common






allegiance　to　the　King；　which　has　greatly　facilitated　the






absorption　of　new　bodies　of　citizens　by　modern　commonwealths。　But






the　majesty　with　which　the　memory　of　the　Roman　Empire　surrounded






all　kings　has　also　greatly　contributed　to　it；　and　without　the






victory　of　the　Roman　Plebeians　there　would　never　have　been；　I






need　hardly　say；　any　Roman　Empire。






　　　　The　new　knowledge　which　has　been　rapidly　accumulating　of　late






years　enables　us　to　track　precisely　the　same　transmutation　of






ideas　amid　the　smaller　groups　of　kinsmen　settled　on　land　and






forming；　not　Commonwealths；　but　Village…Communities。　The






historian　of　former　days　laboured　probably　under　no　greater






disadvantage　than　that　caused　by　his　unavoidable　ignorance　of　the






importance　of　these　communities；　and　by　the　necessity　thus






imposed　upon　him　of　confining　his　attention　to　the　larger






assemblages　of　tribesmen。　It　has　often；　indeed；　been　noticed　that






a　Feudal　Monarchy　was　an　exact　counterpart　of　a　Feudal　Manor；　but






the　reason　of　the　correspondence　is　only　now　beginning　to　dawn






upon　us；　which　is；　that　both　of　them　were　in　their　origin　bodies






of　assumed　kinsmen　settled　on　land　and　undergoing　the　same






transmutation　of　ideas　through　the　fact　of　settlement。　The






history　of　the　larger　groups　ends　in　the　modern　notions　of






Country　and　Sovereignty；　the　history　of　the　smaller　in　the　modern






notions　of　Landed　Property。　The　two　courses　of　historical






development　were　for　a　long　while　strictly　parallel；　though　they






have　ceased　to　be　so　now。






　　　　The　naturally　organised；　self…existing；　Village…Community　can






no　longer　be　claimed　as　an　institution　specially　characteristic






of　the　Aryan　races。　M。　de　Laveleye；　following　Dutch　authorities；






has　described　these　communities　as　they　are　found　in　Java；　and　M






Renan　has　discovered　them　among　the　obscurer　Semitic　tribes　in






Northern　Africa。　But；　wherever　they　have　been　examined；　the






extant　examples　of　the　group　suggest　the　same　theory　of　its






origin　which　Mr　Freeman　（'Comparative　Politics；'　p。　103）　has






advanced　concerning　the　Germanic　village…community　or　Mark；　'This






lowest　political　unit　was　at　first；　here　（i。　e。　in　England）　as






elsewhere；　formed　of　men　bound　together　by　a　tie　of　kindred；　in






its　first　estate　natural；　in　a　later　stage　either　of　kindred






natural　or　artificial。'　The　evidence；　however；　is　now　quite　ample






enough　to　furnish　us　with　strong　indications　not　only　of　the　mode






in　which　these　communities　began；　but　of　the　mode　in　which　they






transformed　themselves。　The　world；　in　fact；　contains　examples　of






cultivating　groups　in　every　stage；　from　that　in　which　they　are






actually　bodies　of　kinsmen；　to　that　in　which　the　merest　shadow　of






consanguinity　survives　and　the　assemblage　of　cultivators　is　held






together　solely　by　the　land　which　they　till　in　common。　The　great






steps　in　the　scale　of　transition　seem　to　me　to　be　marked　by　the






Joint　Family　of　the　Hindoos；　by　the　House…Community　of　the






Southern　Sclavonians；　and　by　the　true　Village…Community；　as　it　is






found　first　in　Russia　and　next　in　India。　The　group　which　I　have






placed　at　the　head；　the　Hindoo…Joint　Family；　is　really　a　body　of






kinsmen；　the　natural　and　adoptive　descendants　of　a　known






ancestor。　Although　the　modern　law　of　India　gives　such　facilities






for　its　dissolution　that　it　is　one　of　the　most　unstable　of　social






compounds；　and　rarely　lasts　beyond　a　couple　of　generations；






still；　so　long　as　it　lasts；　it　has　a　legal　corporate　existence；






and　exhibits；　in　the　most　perfect　state；　that　community　of






proprietary　enjoyment　which　has　been　so　often　observed；　and　（let






me　add）　so　often　misconstrued；　in　cultivating　societies　of






archaic　type。　'According　to　the　true　notion　of　a　joint　undivided






Hindoo　family；'　said　the　Privy　Council；　'no　member　of　the　family；






while　it　remains　undivided；　can　predicate　of　the　joint　undivided






property　that　he；　that　particular　member；　has　a　certain　definite






share。。。。　The　proceeds　of　undivided　property　must　be　brought；






according　to　the　theory；　into　the　common　chest　or　purse；　and　then






dealt　with　according　to　the　modes　of　enjoyment　of　the　members　of






an　undivided　family。'　（Per　Lord　Westbury；　Appovier　v。　Rama　Subba






Aiyan；　11　Moore's　Indian　Appeals；　75。）　While；　however；　these






Hindoo　families；　'joint　in　food；　worship；　and　estate；'　are






constantly　engaged　in　the　cultivation　of　land；　and　dealing　with






its　produce　'according　to　the　modes　of　enjoyment　of　an　undivided






family；'　they　are　not　village…communities。　They　are　only






accidentally　connected　with　the　land；　however　extensive　their






landed　property　may　be。　What　holds　them　together　is　not　land；　but






consanguinity；　and　there　is　no　reason　why　they　should　not　occupy






themselves；　as　indeed　they　frequently　do；　with　trade　or　with　the






practice　of　a　handicraft。　The　House…Community；　which　comes　next






in　the　order　of　development；　has　been　examined　by　M。　de　Laveleye






（P。　et　8。　F。　P。；　p。　201）；　and　by　Mr。　Patterson　（'Fortnightly






Review；'　No。　xliv。）；　in　Croatia；　Dalmatia；　and　Illyria；　countries






which；　though　newer　to　us　than　India；　have　still　much　in　common






with　the　parts　of　the　East　not　brought　completely　under　Mahometan






influences；　but　there　is　reason　to　believe　that　neither　Roman　law






nor　feudalism　entirely　crushed　it　even　in　Western　Europe。　It　is　a






remarkable　fact　that　assemblages　of　kinsmen；　almost　precisely　the






counterpart　of　the　House…Communities　surviving　among　the






Sclavonians；　were　observed　by　M。　Dupin；　in　1840；　in　the　French






Department　of　the　Ni鑦re；　and　were　able　to　satisfy　him　that　even






in　1500　they　had　been　accounted　ancient。　These　House…Communities






seem　to　me　to　be　simply　the　Joint…Family　of　the　Hindoos；　allowed






to　expand　itself　without　hindrance　and　settled　for　ages　on　the






land。　All　the　chief　characteristics　of　the　Hindoo　institution　are






here　　the　common　home　and　common　table；　which　we　always　in






theory　the　centre　of　Hindoo　family　life；　the　collective　enjoyment






of　property　and　its　administration　by　an　elected　manager。






Nevertheless；　many　instructive　change　s　have　begun　which　show　how






such　a　group　modifies　itself　in　time　The　community　is　a　community






of　kinsmen；　but；　though　the　com　m　on　ancestry　is　probably　to　a






great　extent　real；　the　tradition　has　become　weak　enough　to　admit






of　considerable　artificiality　being　introduced　into　the






association；　as　it　is　found　at　any　given　moment；　through　the






absorption　of　strangers　from　outside。　Meantime；　the　land　tends　to






become　the　true　basis　of　the　group；　it　is　recognized　as　of






pre…eminent　importance　to　its　vitality；　and　it　remains　common






property；　while　private　ownership　is　allowed　to　show　itself　in






moveables　and　cattle。　In　the　true　Village…Community；　the　common






dwelling　and　common　table　which　belong　alike　to　the　Joint　Family






and　to　the　House…Community；　are　no　longer　to　be　found。　The






village　itself　is　an　assemblage　of　houses；　contained　indeed






within　narrow　limits；　but　composed　of　separate　dwellings；　each






jealously　guarded　from　the　intrusion　of　a　neighbour。　The　village






lands　are　no　longer　the　collective　property　of　the　community；　the






arable　lands　have　been　divided　between　the　various　households；






the　pasture　lands　have　been　partially　divided；　only　the　waste






remains　in　common。　In　comparing　the　two　extant　types　of






Village…Community　which　have　been　longest　examined　by　good






observers；　the　Russian　and　the　Indian；　we　may　be　led　to　think






that　the　traces　left　on　usage　and　idea　by　the　ancient　collective






enjoyment　are　faint　exactly　in　proportion　to　the　decay　of　the






theory　of　actual　kinship　among　the　co…villagers。　The　Russian






peasants　of　the　same　village　really　believe；　we　are　told；　in






their　common　ancestry；　and　accordingly　we　find　that　in　Russia　the






arable　lands　of　the　village　are　periodically　re…distributed；　and






that　the　village　artificer；　even　should　he　carry　his　tools　to　a






distance；　works　for　the　profit　of　his　co…villagers。　In　India；






though　the　villagers　are　still　a　brotherhood；　and　though






membership　in　the　brotherhood　separates　a　man　from　the　world






outside；　it　is　very　difficult　to　say　in　what　the　tie　is　conceived






as　consisting。　Many　palpable　facts　in　the　composition　of　the