SIAM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 306, 20 May 1911, Page 9

SIAM.

With ,1 kingdom of about 19."i.0i10 square miles, inhabited by six and a half million people, the new ruler of Siam has conic to the throne very differently equipped from his predecessors. In some respects the achievements of the Siamese have been scarcely less remarkable than those of the Japanese. As the natural result of a tropical climate Siam has had to struggle against the indilence of her people and against the corruption of the official classes which seems inseparable from an Oriental State. During the reign of Chulalongkorn I many sweeping changes were effected, which in Europe would have taken centuries to accomplish, changes which the late King forced on his people, so as to bring his kingdom into line, with Western ideas. Tims it is that Siam has not shared tlie fate of her ancient, rivals. CIIT'LALONGKORN'S IDEAL. Little or nothing authentic is known of the ancient history of the country. The Portuguese, Spanish, French and Dutch Governments . successfully established commercial relations with Siam early in the seventeenth century! and about fifty years later the English followed. It appeared quite probable for a time that the French would outstrip | all the Occidental nations in their inlhienee over the Siamese, but a popular outbreak, in which French missionaries and traders were massacred, dispelled this expectation, and tlie country returned in the beginning of the eighteenth century io its traditional policy of oxclnsivencss. Within the past, sixty year* this has been greatly modified. Treaties have been made with (treat Britain. France and tlie United States, embassies have been sent to the governments of Britain and France, and, generally speaking, European customs, ideas, and improvements have been adopted by successive rulers. Tt was King Chulalongkorn's highest ideal—an ideal previously unheard of in the East—to govern for the good of his people, lie had set himself a task which required much time, great patience, and tireless persistence. Only a man of exceptional strength of (diaracter could have carried through such a colossal undertaking and remained indifferent to the opportunities for ease and pleasure afforded to the autocrat of an Eastern Court, The nobles could not, and would not, understand his purpose in trying to reform and revitalise Siam. A BUFFER STATE. For a quarter of a century little real progress was made. In ISO. 1 ) troubles arose 011 the Franco-Siamese frontier, which culminated in the appearance of French gunboats before Bangkok. "The King will tell them to go and they will have to go," said the people; but when the gunboats went, it was to establish a blockade, and the settlement cost Siam 100,000 square miles of territory. The Siamese now realised the necessity of putting their house in order; annexation seemed to he only a question of a few years, and so uncertain did the future appear that the King for a time seemed to despair. So matters were allowed to drift. Then in 1896 the independence of the Mcnam Valley was guaranteed by the Anglo-French agreement. Siam was given a new lease of life, and to her lasting credit she has shown that she knew how to use her opportunity. Since 189G, however, 14,800 square miles of territory iu Siam have been ceded to France, while so recently as 1900 t.he three Siamese tributary states of Kilantan, Trenggarin and Kidali, comprising iu all 1,"),000 square miles, wore transferred to Great Britain. Siam has thus become a kind of buffer state between the British iu Burma and the French in Cambodia and Cochin-China. Every living statesman who has studied Eastern politics of recent years has insisted on the maintenance of the integrity and the independence of Siam as a British interest, and every chamber of commerce is aware of the fact that, a progressive and friendly state like Siam, under an enlightened ruler, is a commercial asset which we ought not to neglect, and could not replace if once lost. A REFORMER KING. Xo country in the world has perhaps made such rapid strides in reforming its administration and ameliorating the condition of its people as Siam has done. When King Chulalongkorn took over the reins of government ill 1873, one of his first works was to introduce political reforms of far-reaching importance. He decreed a Constitution in May, 1874, and notified the abolition of slavery, which by 1890 had completely disappeared. Similarly a postal service was established, railways and tramways were opened, telegraphic communication was set up between Siam and foreign countries, and an efficient police system was introduced, with beneficial results. Sanitation, education, and the administration of law and justice were all greatly improved, and taxation was lightened and simplified, so that Siam is now the most lightly taxed country in Asia. At first the reforming zeal of the late King was not generally shared in by his great nobles and other court officials. Only a few of them were ''progressives." Not so many years ago the government was administered by officers who seldom troubled their departments in person. Such a system of government was, of course, impossible in a country that had been fired by the spirit of reformation and progress, and so a new regime was introduced. Nowadays most of the Government departments are administered with the assistance of European advisers and a staff of European officials. EXCELLENT IN THEORY, Theoretically the government of Siam is excellent., but in practice it is not always all that could be desired. The kingdom itself is divided into eighteen provincial circles, over each of which sits a High Commissioner, who derives his authority direct from the King, and whose area of jurisdiction is subdivided among a number of subordinate Governors of provinces. Until 1895 the administration of the country was left fo the Ministers of the North, South and Foreign Affairs. Then it was brought under the single authority of Prince Danrirong, who, as Minister of the Interior, had also been responsible for a number of reforms in the system of justice as administered in the native courts. At his instigation the legal code was to a great extent revised, and while the consular courts still exercise jurisdiction over their own nationals, there is an international court which tries suits of foreigners against natives. 011 the executive side of government, the King is advised by a Cabinet, in which most of the portfolios are held by his majesty's relatives, who olticiallv are the. heads'of the various departments, the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, the Ministries of War, Marine, Justice and the Interior, and the Departments of Finance, Public Instruction, Public Works and Police being represented. The Council of State, which was constituted on May 8, 1874, has now been superseded by a Legislative Council I that was called into being as recently as January 10, 1595. Comprising the Ministries of State and others, its total membership is lifty-0110. Its aim is to complete the legislative reforms of the kingdom, but important supplementary powers have been conferred upon the Legislative Council, by which in the event of any temporary disability of the Crown, they possess the right to'promul-

ttittf law- wiiiiuiu tin* Royal assent. At .-ill i>l liit 1 iilifr. tlic ~ij;iiatlliu (if tile Kill); is < s^i'iiiial before any law can In* put into <i]n'l'at i<ni. A \ATI!IN OF HOLIDAY-MAKERS. Describing their national character as "docile, indolent, timid, gay," a writer has said: "The Siamese arc devoted to tlie holiday-makings and ceremonies and processions which accompany the important anniversaries of life, death, and religion, and which cause an infinite amount of money to lie squandered and lime lost. When a kill" or prince is cremated. or when a crown-prince has had his lop-knot shaven oil' upon attaining the age of puberty, the, whole city (Bangkok) is given up to idleness for days, and the barbaric splendor of the ceremonial is iinii|ile even in the Far East." The marriage customs of Siain are peculiar. When a wedding is contemplated the negotiations are carried out by elderly women, who ascertain if the intended bride and bridegroom are, suitable, and arrange all details, lillt, witli all their faults, the Siamese are a charming people, lovable, giflcd and cultured. Their chief failings are lethargy anil love of pleasure, and they have the characteristic caprieiousncss of the Orientals in their amours, limited or extended, of course, according to their social position and balance at the bank. To the late King, for example, wives were as embarrassing as tliey were to Solomon t'or it is the custom of the Siamese aristocracy to dedicate its most attractive daughters to the service of the Sovereign.