Directory_and_Chronicle_1883 — Page 530

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SIAM.

BANGKOK.

The kingdom of Siam, of which Bangkok is the capital, extends from the latitude It is bounded on the west by of about 23 deg. north to the Gulf called after itself. Burmah and the Bay of Bengal, and on the east by the Lai Mountains. The kingdom proper lies in the valley of the Menam, the country of the true Siamese. The boundaries of Siam on the Bay of Bengal reach from the possessions of Great Britain in Burmah in a southerly line to the boundary between Perak and Quedah in the Malayan Peninsula in the latitude of 5 deg. south. The Island of Junck Salong, containing enormous deposits of tin ore, is included in the territories of Siam. The boundary line runs nearly east from Perak across the Peninsula in about the same latitude between the provinces of Tringano and Pahang to the China Sea, thence north to the head of the Gulf of Siam. The kingdom also comprises the greater part of the ancient domain of Lao and the rich and valuable possession of Battambang, once a part of the kingdom of Cambodia. The various dependencies 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 Annamese on the east, and the Malays and Burmese on the south and east. The former capital of Siam was Ayuthia, situated on the Menam river (literally the "Mother o: 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 Burman 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 Toutaboree, declared himself King under the title of P'ya Tak. In 1782 the reins of empire were seized by one of his most distinguished generals named Yaut Fa, who founded the present dynasty, of which His Majesty the present King [the 40th reigning monarch in Siam of whom we have any record] is the fifth in regular descent. The revenue of Siam is very large, and if properly collected would be enormous, but the inertness of the nobility and the frauds practised with the utmost boldness and impunity, have very seriously impaired it. Of the Customs revenue probably not one-eighth of the legitimate amount is ever collected. The general revenue is farmed out to Chinese, and a triennial tax is also imposed upon all foreigners unrepresented by a Consul, such as Chinese, Annamese, &c.

The native population of Siam, with Laos, Tavoyans, Peguans, and Burmese, excluding those under Consular protection, is variously estimated at from six to ten millions. No census has ever been taken until last year. This is in course of opera- tion, and will probably soon be completed. The number of Chinese in the kingdom is believed to be not less than one million three hundred thousand,

The city of Bangkok is situated on both sides of the Menam, about thirty miles from where this magnificent stream empties itself into the Gulf. On the east bank of the river are the palaces of the two Kings, the foreign hongs, the Consulates, the principal rice mills, and most of the Public Offices. The left is. prin ipally occupied by the Chinese and Mahomedan residents, though the Foreign Office and the Yamens of the Prime Minister and his father, the ex-Regent, are situated on canals leading from it. The bulk of the business is, however, transacted on the east. Here a very fair road, the Chawen Krung, extends from the palace walls to Paklat, at the mouth of the river, and a telegraph line connects the mouth of the river with the business portion of the city. This line is now in progress of extension by cable to the outer bar beyond the Light House. Bangkok will shortly be connected, through Saigon, with the rest of the world by wire. The principal trade of Bangkok, and the foundation on which not only its prosperity but its actual existence mainly rests, is rice. This article is drawn in immense quantities, not only from the innumerable fields which line the fertile valley of the Menam, but from the adjacent rivers which flow into the Gulf from the enormous watershed of the mountain