1924

SIAM
The kingdom of Siam, of which Bangkok is the capital, extends from the latitude of
about 20 deg. north to the Gulf called after itself. It is bounded on the west by
Burmah and the Bay of Bengal, and on the east by the Mekong and the French
protectorates of Luang Prabang and Cambodia. Formerly the Lai Mountains were
claimed as the eastern boundary, but in 1893 the French pressed the claims of
Annam to the territory between the mountains and the river, and the Siamese
were compelled to retire. The most important part of the kingdom lies in the
valley of the Menam, the country of the true Siamese. The boundaries of Siam,
on the Bay of Bengal, reach from Burmah in a southerly line to the northern frontier
of Kelantan and Kedah in the Malayan Peninsula in the latitude of about 7 deg. north.
The island of Puket, containing enormous deposits of tin ore, is included in
the territories of Siam. The boundary line runs south-east from the mouth of the Perlis
River across the Peninsula slightly to the north of Kota Bharu, the capital of Kelantan.
Under the Treaty of 1909 Siam ceded to Great Britain her Malay dependencies of Perlis,
Kedah, Kelantan and Trengganu, and the boundary was delimitated in the cold
weather of 1909-10. The kingdom also comprises a great part of the ancient domain
of Lao, but the rich and valuable possession of Battambang, once a part of the king¬
dom of Cambodia, was ceded to France in 1907. A Treaty concluded between
France and Siam in 1904 settled some disputed points with regard to the frontier between
Siam and Cambodia and Siam and French Indo-China. By a further treaty in 1907 the
territories of Battambang, Sien-reap and Angkor were ceded by Siam to France in
exchange for the district of Krat and some slight concessions in Dansai (Laos). France,
at the same time, agreed to the gradual abandonment of the extra-territorial privileges
hitherto enjoyed by French-Asiatic subjects and proteges in Siam. The various depend¬
encies and outskirts are peopled by a variety of races, some sui generis, others illustrating
every form and shade of the transition between the original race and the Annamites on
the east, and the Malays and Burmese on the south and west. The former capital of Siam
was Ayuthia, situated on the Menam river (literally the “ Mother of Waters ”), about 90
miles from its mouth. In 1767 a series of bloody and desperate combats between the
Siamese and the Burmese culminated in the capture and destruction of that city by
the victorious Burmese general and the consequent exodus of the conquered. They
moved down the river about 60 miles, and there founded the present populous and
flourishing city of Bangkok. The chief of the Siamese Army rallied the scattered
troops, and, building a walled city at Dhonburi (i.e., Bangkok on the west bank of
the river, the modern capital being mainly on the east bank), declared himself King
under the title P’ya Tak. In 1782 P’ya Tak became insane, and the kingdom passed to
his most distinguished general, named Chao P’ya Chakkri, who founded the present
dynasty, of which His Majesty the present King (the 42nd reigning monarch in Siam of
whom we have any record) is the sixth in regular descent. The actual revenue of
Siam in 1919-20 was over £8,500,000. The finances, of the country have undergone
reorganisation, for which purpose a European financial adviser was first engaged in
1896. At that time the revenue accounted for was little more than Ticals 18,000,000
but the amount has since steadily increased, reaching Ticals 96,000,000 in 1919-20.
A proposal to' adopt the gold standard was mooted in 1899, but did not come to
anything till November, 1902, when the Mint was closed to the free coinage of silver.
A triennial poll-tax used to be imposed upon Chinese, but this has now been changed
to an annual capitation-tax paid by all under Siamese jurisdiction. Siam entered the
Universal Postal Union on the 1st July, 1885.
The first railway line, from Bangkok to Paknam, was opened by the King on
the 11th April, 1893. It is a purely passenger line, having been unable to get
any goods traffic worth mentioning, but the dividend averages about seven per cent.
Another railway, a Government line vid Ayuthia to Korat, was the first important
line completed. The first section, from Bangkok to Ayuthia, a distance of about
50 miles, was opened on the 26th March, 1897. Another section, to Gengkoi, was
opened on November 1st, 1897, a third, to Hinlap, on April 1st, 1898, and the
whole line was opened to traffic in November, 1900. The construction of a line