ashionable, at
present, to have more than seven husbands, one for each day of the week.

Of no importance heretofore, after her farcical marriage the Nair woman
at once becomes a power in the councils of the nation; as a matter of
course, the higher her lovers the higher her rank becomes and the
greater her influence. Here is female suffrage in its primitive form,
brought about, it is true, by environment, and not by elective
franchise.

As far as the children are concerned, the power of the mother is
absolute; for they know no father, the maternal uncle standing in his
stead. Property, both personal and real, is vested in the woman; she is
the mistress and the ruler. "The mother reigns and governs; she has her
eldest daughter for prime minister in her household, through whom all
orders are transmitted to her little world. Formerly, in grand
ceremonials, the reigning prince himself yielded precedence to his
eldest daughter, and, of course, recognized still more humbly the
priority of his mother, before whom he did not venture to seat himself
until she had given him permission. Such was the rule from the palace to
the humblest dwelling of a Nair."

During the past fifty years, these people have made rapid strides toward
civilization, monandry and monogamy taking the places of polyandry and
polygamy, and fifty or a hundred years hence, this matriarchate will, in
all probability, entirely disappear.

I have demonstrated, I think, clearly and distinctly, that matriarchy,
or female government, is neither new nor advanced thought, but that it
is as old, almost, as the human race; that the "New Woman" was born many
thousands of years ago, and that her autotype, in some respects, is to
be found to-day in Mangalore! A return to matriarchy at the present time
would be distinctly and emphatically and essentially retrograde in every
particular. The right to vote carries with it the right to hold office,
and if women are granted the privilege of suffrage, they must also be
given the right to govern. Now let us see if we cannot find a reason for
this atavistic desire (matriarchy) in the physical and psychical
histories of its foremost advocates. I will discuss this question in
Part II of this paper.

II. THE VIRAGINT.

There are two kinds of genius. The first is progressive genius, which
always enunciates new and original matter of material benefit to the
human race, and which is, consequently, non-atavistic; the second is