SIAM. (SAYAM, OR MUANG THAI.) Chulalonkorn I. (Somdetch Phra Paramindr Maha), born 21st September, 1853; the eldest son of the late King Maha Mongkut and of Queen Rambhey Bhumarabhiromya; succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, October 1, 1868. Children of the King. I. Prince Somdech Chowfa Maha Vajirunhis, heir-apparent, born June 23, 1878. II. Princess Sudha Dibaratna, born 1877. I. Somdetch Chowfa Chaturant Rasmi, born January 14, 1857. II. Somdetch Chowfa Bhanurangse Swangwongse, born January 13, 1860. III. Krom Mun Naret Varariddhi, born May 7, 1855. IV. Krom Luang Pichit Prijakon, born October 29, 1855. V. Krom Mun Adison Udomatej, born March 15, 1856. VI. Krom Mun Phudharet Damrongsakdi, born March 16, 1856. VII. Krom Mun Prachak Silapakhon, born April, 1856. VIII. Krom Luang Devawongse Varoprakar, born Nov. 30, 1858. There are other seven brothers. The royal dignity is nominally hereditary, but does not descend always from the father to the eldest son, each sovereign being invested with the privilege of nominating his own successor. Government, Revenue, and Army. According to the law of May 8, 1874, the legislative power is exercised by the king in conjunction with a Council of Ministers (Senabodi), who have charge of the departments of the War and Marine, Foreign Affairs, Justice, Agriculture, the Royal House, and Finance. The Council of State consist of the ministers, 10 to 20 members appointed by the king, and 6 princes of the royal house. Each of the 41 provinces is administered by a governor; while there are several tributary districts administered by their own princes. The prevailing religion is Buddhism. In recent years the results 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, Kelantan, and Tringganu in the Malay Peninsula acknowledge her superiority, as do the Lao (Shan States) of Luang Phrabang, Chiengmai, Lakhon, Lamphunchai, 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 probably identical with Shan, applied in Burma to the Lao 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 1886 was 1,728,8077., the staple article of export being rice to Hong Kong and Singapore-in 1886 amounting to 215,387 tons, valued at 1,090,4897.; pepper, 56,6461.; teak, 115,4971.; cattle, 31,6937.; teel-seed, 38,6917.; sapan-wood, 18,6787. The total imports into Bangkok, in the year 1886, were of the value of 1,230,000l., comprising cottons, 291,000l.; opium, 62,500l.; gold-leaf and treasure, 329,500l.; silk goods, 29,100l.; China goods, 72,000l.; kerosene oil, 45,9001.; jewellery, 45,800. In addition to this the imports from Siam to Lower Burma in 1886 amounted to 32,8607.; and the exports from the latter to the former, 129,6157. There is, however, a large trade on the other frontiers of Siam. 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 1886, 303 vessels of 198,807 tons cleared the port of Bangkok, of which 205 of 140,213 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 1882 to 1886 the value of the export from Siam to Great Britain, and of imports of British produce into Siam, was as follows: The two almost sole articles of direct export from Siam to Great Britain in the year 1886 were hewn teak-wood, valued at 94,6781., and rice at 5,7301. According to the Board of Trade Returns, no rice was exported from Siam to Great Britain in 1882-83; the quantity exported in 1881 was valued at 23,1147., in 1880 at 338,1777., in 1884 at 86,0831., and in 1885 at 31,8097. Among the direct imports of British produce into Siam, the chief articles in 1886 were machinery and mill-work, of the value of 8,3157.; iron, wrought and unwrought, 1,1237.; arms, ammunition, &c., 16,8667.; cottons, 5,8681.; hardware, 2,5531.; furniture, 8,7611. There is a large importation of British piece-goods, transhipped at Singapore. A telegraph line connecting Bangkok with Tavoy in Lower Burma has been constructed, and another from Bangkok to Pnompeng in Cambodia; a third from Bangkok to Chiengmai, the chief city of North Siam; others are being constructed to Chantaboon, the chief port on the S.E. coast, to Khorat, and to Luang Phrabong, besides lines in the Siamese Malay States. There is a postal service in Bangkok, and in 1885 Siam joined the International Postal Union. Money, Weights, and Measures. The money, weights, and measures of Siam, and the British equivalents, are— The Tical, or Bat 4 Ticals 80 Ticals = = MONEY. 64 atts, average rate of exchange, 2s. 1d. 1 catty: these two last are moneys 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.-Phya Monkri Suriyawong. 2. OF GREAT BRITAIN IN SIAM. Minister Resident and Consul-General.-Ernest Mason Satow, C.M.G., appointed January 25, 1884. Consul.-E. B. Gould. Statistical and other Books of Reference concerning Siam. Commercial Report of Satow) in Siam for 1885. 1. OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. H.M.'s Minister Resident and Consul-General (Mr. Report on the trade of Bangkok for 1886 in Diplomatic and Consular Reports,' No. 222, 1887. 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 1886.' 4. London, 1887. 2. NON-OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. Alabaster (Henry), The Wheel of the Law. 8. London, 1871. 8. Leipzig und Bowring (John), The Kingdom and People of Siam. 2 vols. 8. London, 1857. 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. Gréhan (A.) Le royaume de Siam. 8. Paris, 1868. Jancigny, Japan, Indo-China, Ceylon. 1 vol. 8. Paris, 1850. La Loubère, Description du Royaume de Siam. 12. Paris and Amsterdam, 1691. La Loubère, A new Historical Relation of the Kingdom of Siam. Folio. London, 1693. Leonowens, The English Governess at the Siamese Court. 8. 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 (Élisée), 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. |