* * Mr. G. A. de C. de Moubray leaves
us in no doubt that he has read widely : in fact his references to authorities usually associated with Greats at Oxford are apt to become rather tedious. We are not sure, however, that he has read wisely, though he appears to have discovered a new author in Sir George Frazer. Can he possibly mean Sir James ? Matriarchy in the Malay Peninsula and Neighbouring Countries (Routledge, 15s.) was nominally inspired by the institution as found in certain parts of the Malay peninsula, but so limited an inquiry was not enough for Mr. de Moubray, who with a commendable assurance set himself to solve the whole question of its origin, development and decay. His assumption that the phenomenon of degeneration has never been mentioned in anthropology disregards the fact that it is a fundamental tenet of one whole school, but this and other curious assump- tions are possibly due to the distance at which Mr. de Moubray worked from a library. As, however, he is very frank in his disagreement with other authorities, he- will surely permit the criticism, that his postulate of primitive matriarchy is purely hypothetical and in many respects would apply equally well to patriarchy. We find it difficult, therefore, to agree with conclusions based on a hypothesis which can command but limited acceptance. We should add, however, that Mr. de Moubray generously provides solutions for several other problems which intrude into his main thesis.
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