49 8 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [n. s.. i, 1899
to be caused by some inequity, and the question is asked, " How can these inequities be removed ? " So tribal men attempt their removal by instituting courts of justice that peace may be main- tained between the members of the tribe. They further find themselves involved in disputes and wars with neighboring tribes, and they make it a rule, even in the most primitive society, that the tribe, not the individual, has the right to declare war, and this declaration must be made by the council of the people. After the council has decided upon war, individuals on their own initiative may make the war, but they cannot engage in such war without the tribal consent.
We have seen that the incorporation and organization of social bodies is not by fixed juxtaposition of parts, but by purposes. Here we have to note that the equity which is necessary to the continual existence of social bodies is not equivalence of parts, as that term is used in physical science, but it is the equity of con- duct. Equity, then, is the demotic term for equivalence. One man paddles the boat and another kills the game, but the gain is shared ; this is equity, or equivalence of rights. While one party is hunting, another party may be fishing; each party shares in the gains of the other ; this is equity or equivalence of rights. Still another party may be engaged in defending the whole group; all share in the protection and all share in the food •obtained ; this is equity, or equivalence of rights.
Equality. — Peace can be secured only if justice is maintained. That justice may be maintained, the entire tribal council must be consulted when it is assembled as a court of justice. The funda- mental requisite for a decision of the matter in such a council is the equality of the members who compose the organization. One man's opinion may weigh more than that of another ; equal- ity of opinion is absurd, but equality of voice or vote in the council is necessary. So primeval man discovers the principle of equality, and from the first organization of tribal society to the present time, human equality has been a principle of justice.
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