of Western civilisation have to some extent been introduced. Some few young Siamese have been sent to schools in England, Germany, and France. The king's revenue may be estimated at about 2,000,000l. a year, of which sum the land tax produces 287,000l.; tax on fruit trees, 65,000l.; spirits, 100,000l.; opium, 120,000l.; gambling, 100,000l.; customs, 120,000l.; tin-mines, 90,000l.; edible birds'nests, 27,000l.; fisheries, 27,000l. All the taxes, with the exception of the customs duties, are farmed. There is no public debt, and paper money has not been introduced. The expenditure is stated to keep within the receipts. There is a small standing army, and a general armament of the people, in the form of a militia. Every male inhabitant, from the age of 21 upwards, is obliged to serve the State for three months a year. The following individuals are, however, exempted:-Members of the priesthood, the Chinese settlers, who pay a commutation tax, slaves, public functionaries, the fathers of three sons liable to service, and those who purchase exemption by a fine of from six to eight ticals a month, or by furnishing a slave or some other person not subject to the conscription, as a substitute. It is stated that the Government possesses upwards of 80,000 stand of arms, besides a considerable stock of cannon. The army is to some extent officered by Europeans. The fleet of war consists of four steam corvettes and twelve gunboats, officered by Europeans, chiefly Englishmen. The organisation of the navy is modelled on that of Great Britain. Population and Trade. The limits of the kingdom of Siam have varied much at different periods of its history; and even now, with the exception of the Western frontier, the lines of demarcation cannot be exactly traced, most of the border lands being occupied by tribes more or less independent. As nearly as can be calculated, the country extends, at present, from the 4th to the 21st degree of north latitude, and from the 96th to the 106th degree of east longitude, being a total area of about 250,000 square miles. The numbers of the population are still more imperfectly known than the extent of territory, and the difficulty of any correct result is the greater on account of the Oriental custom of numbering only the men. The latest foreign estimates give the population of the kingdom as follows, in round numbers: 2,000,000 Siamese; 1,000,000 Chinese; 2,000,000 Laotians; 1,000,000 Malays; total about 6,000,000. Kedah, Patani, Kelautan and Tringganu in the Malay Peninsula acknowledge her superiority, as do the Lao (Shan States) of Luang Reabarg, Chiengmai, Lakhou, Lampunchai, Nan and Phre. The Siamese dominions are divided into 41 provinces. The native historians distinguish two natural divisions of the country, called Muang-Nua, the region of the north, and Muang-Tai, the southern region. Previous to the fifteenth century, the former was the more populous part of the country, but since the establishment of Bangkok as capital-with from 400,000 to 600,000 inhabitants-the south has taken the lead in population. Siam is called by its inhabitants Thaï, or Muang Thaï, which means 'free,' or 'the kingdom of the free.' The word Siam-quite unknown to the natives-is perhaps Malay, from sajam, 'the brown race.' There is comparatively little trade and industry in the country, mainly owing to the state of serfdom in which the population is kept by the feudal owners of the land. Throughout the whole of Siam, the natives are liable to forced labour for a certain period of the year, varying from one to three months, in consequence of which the land, rich in many parts, is badly cultivated. Probably not more than one-twentieth of the available land is under cultivation. Domestic slavery is in partial process of abolition. Nearly the whole of the trade is in the hands of foreigners, and in recent years many Chinese, not subject like the natives to forced labour, have settled in the country. The foreign trade of Siam centres in Bangkok, the capital. The value of the total exports from Bangkok in 1883 was about 1,705,1317., the staple article of export being rice to Hong Kong and Singapore. The minor exports embraced a great variety of articles, chief among them hides, sesame, pepper, sapan-wood, spices, ivory, cattle, horns, and teak. The total imports into Bangkok, in the year 1883, were of the value of 956,7147., the imports comprising mainly textile goods, hardware, and opium. At the end of 1883, the mercantile navy of Siam numbered 44 sailing vessels and 1 steamer, of an aggregate burthen of 16,000 tons. In 1883, 384 vessels of 185,612 tons cleared the port of Bangkok, of which 199 of 119,587 tons were British. The direct commercial intercourse of Siam with the United Kingdom is inconsiderable, and of a very fluctuating character. In the five years 1879 to 1883 the value of the exports from Siam to Great Britain, and of imports of British produce into Siam, was as follows: The staple and almost only article of export from Siam to Great Britain in the year 1883 was hewn teak wood, valued at 51,6821. According to the Board of Trade Returns, no rice was exported from Siam to Great Britain in 1882-3; the quantity exported in 1881 was valued at 23,1147., and in 1880 at 338,1777. Among the imports of British produce into Siam, the chief articles in 1883 were machinery and mill-work, of the value of 9,1787., and iron wrought and unwrought, 2,2781. Money, Weights, and Measures. The money, weights, and measures of Siam, and the British equivalents, are: MONEY. The Tical, or Bat = 12,800 cowries, average rate of exchange. 2s. 24d. 4 Ticals 80 Ticals 1 tamlung = 1 catty: these two last are monies of account. The legal money of Siam is the Tical, a silver coin, with the device of the king's head impressed, weighing 236 grains troy. Dollars are accepted in payment at the rate of 3 dollars for 5 Ticals. In 1875, the Government ordered a large quantity of bronze coinage from England, which is reported to get into extensive use among the people, taking the place of previous small Chinese gambling tokens. Diplomatic and Consular Representatives. 1. OF SIAM IN GREAT BRITAIN. Ambassador.-Krom Mun Naresr Varariddhi. English Secretary.-Frederick W. Verney. 2. OF GREAT BRITAIN IN SIAM. Agent and Consul-General.—Ernest Mason Satow, C.M.G., appointed January 25, 1884. Statistical and other Books of Reference concerning Siam. 1. OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. Commercial Report from H.M.'s Consul-General in Siam for the year 1870. 8. London, 1871. Reports by Mr. W. H. Newman on the trade of the port of Bangkok, dated June 30, 1875; and by Mr. D. J. Edwardes on the state of Chiengmai and other Teak districts of Siam, dated June 17, 1875; in Commercial Reports by H.M.'s Consular Officers in Siam.' No. I. 1875. 8. London, 1875. Commercial Report of H.M.'s Agent and Consul-General (Mr. Satow) in Siam for 1883. London, 1884. Trade of Siam with Great Britain; in Annual Statement of the Trade of the United Kingdom with foreign countries and British possessions, for the year 1883. 4. London, 1884. 2. NON-OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. 3 vols. Alabaster (Henry), The Wheel of the Law. 8. London, 1871. 8. Leipzig und Crawford, Journal of an Embassy to Siam and Cochin-China. 2 vols. 8. 2nd edition, 1830. Garnier, Voyage d'Exploration dans l'Indo-China. 2 vols. 4. Paris, 1869. Jancigny, Japan, Indo-China, Ceylon. 1 vol. 8. Paris, 1850. 1691. 12. Paris and Amsterdam, La Loubère, A new Historical Relation of the Kingdom of Siam. Folio. London, 1693. Leonowens, The English Governess at the Siamese Court. S. Boston, 1870. Mouhot (Henry), Travels in the Central Parts of Indo-China (Siam), Cambodia and Laos, during the years 1858-1860. 2 vols. 8. London, 1864. Pallegoix (D. J.), Description du royaume Thai ou Siam. 2 vols. 8. Paris, 1854. Reclus (Elisée), Nouvelle Géographie Universelle. 8. L'Inde et L'IndoChine. Paris, 1883. Scherzer (Dr. K. von), Die wirthschaftlichen Zustände im Süden und Osten Asiens. 8. Stuttgart, 1871. |