WYAVASTHA-DARPANA. 912 In Mr. Sutherland's Synopsis of the Hindoo Law of Adoption, p. 212, he thus expresses himelf—“The primary reason for the affiliation of a son being the obligatory necessity of providing for the performance of the exeguial rites, celebrated by a son for his deceased father, on which the salvation of a Hindoo is supposed to depend, it is necessary that the person proceeding to adopt should be destitute of male issue capable of performing those rites. By the term issue, the son's son and grandson are included. It may be inferred that, if such male issue, although existing, were disqualified by any legal impediment (such as loss of caste, ) from performing the rites in question, the affiliation of a son might legally take Place' In Mr. Steel's Synopsis of the Law of Hindoo Castes, he tate, p. 48:—“An adoption can take place only where no begotten son or grañdson exists, or where the begotten son has lost caste.” Again, at p. 52: “In the case of the death of an adopted son (and total loss of caste is considered equivalent to death, ) another may be selected and given in the same manner ; but a man, after adopting one cannot adopt another, at the desire of a second wife, &c. Only one adopted son can subsist at one time.” It is true that the treatise purports to relate to the customs of the provinces of Bombay ; but we are not aware of a difference between the different provinces, on this point, though there appears to be:home minor differences, on other points of the law ..of adoption. -- But by far the most important authority is Mr. Piłłiam Macnaghten, whose Principles and Precedents of Hindoo Law were composed, as appears from the preface, after collecting all the information that could be procured from all quarters, and after a careful examinution of all the original authorities, and of all the opinions of the Pondits, recorded in the Supreme Court, for a series of years. This work was published after his report of the two cases already referred to, and of course he could not but be acquainted with them ; indeed, he refers to one of them. Now, Mr. Macnaghten states the law, as he considers it to be, without the slightest doubt or hesitation. He says, vol. I. p. 80, “It is clear that a man having adopted a boy and that boy being alive, he cannot adopt another.” And he examines the text, that “many sons are to be desired, in order that one may travel to Goya,” and says that it applies only to matural born sons, We are informed by our very learned Assessor, Sir Edward Ryan, that this work of Mr. Macnaghten's is constantly referred to in the Supreme Court, as all but decisive of any point of Hindoo law,” contained in it, and that much more respect would be paid to it, by the Judges there, than to the opinions of the Pundits. Upon the particular point in question, Sir Edward adds all the weight of his own high authority, concurring as he does entirely in the law, as stated in Macnaghten. The Judges in the Sudder Court state, that they are aware that this has been long considered a doubtful point, and they seem to proceed entirely on the opinion of the Pundits, who favour the second adoption. st & Those Pundits rest upon two main points:— First. The text that ‘many sons are to be desired in order that one may travel to Goya.” But see ante, p. 607 56
