Ghosts and spirits still people the woods and streams, nor has the day of giants and mermaids yet passed away. These supernatural dwellers on land and in water have all to be propitiated, and life carefully ordered so as not to give them offence. Nor are such superstitions confined to the poor and lowly only. Among the better educated there may be here and there a sceptic, but the old beliefs are still diffused among all classes. The few Siamese who have been educated in Europe are no doubt in a somewhat different category from the rest of their fellow-countrymen, but even they come very much under the old influences again after they return. They are not sufficient in numbers nor have they been so completely transformed as to leaven the whole lump. Taking the governing classes as a whole, in spite of a certain approximation in externals, there is still a wide gulf between them and educated Europeans. How far the Oriental point of view is essentially different from the Western, or how far the difference can be ultimately bridged over by education and increase of intercourse, is one of the questions which time alone can answer, and there are few of those awaiting solution in the present century that are of greater interest. But, whatever the issue, the lover of quaint customs and ceremonies and the student of old-world beliefs are likely for many years to come to find much to attract them in this little visited corner of the world.

CHAPTER VI

GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

THE Government of Siam frankly proclaims itself to be an absolute monarchy. There is no mincing of words. It would, indeed, be difficult to conceive an essentially non-military state with so many European elements introduced into its constitution in which the sovereign was so supremely autocratic. With the growing complexities of what passes for civilisation, it is naturally impossible for the king to concern himself with all the details of government, and it is not easy to ascertain how far he does personally interfere in questions of administration. He is certainly not one of the great rulers of the East such as our imaginations love to picture them. He is not an Abdurrahman Khan, jealously watchful of all that goes on in his kingdom, and denying himself sleep and recreation in consequence; nor has he the restless energy of a William II. of Germany. Yet he is both a man of ability and a man of masterful temperament. Accustomed from his boyhood to have his own

way in all things, and not brooking any disobedience, he makes his will felt whenever he chooses to do so; but he would seem of late years to have taken less active interest in the affairs of government than he apparently did in times past.

The monarch has an absolute power of veto and initiative. He has always had the assistance of a Royal Council, or Senabawdee, and now under more constitutional forms he is advised by a so-called Cabinet Council, established in 1891, consisting of the Ministers of State at the head of the various departments-Foreign Affairs, Finance, the Interior, Public Instruction, &c.-who have executive powers. There is also a legislative assembly of between forty and fifty members, consisting of the Ministers and nominees of the king. So great, moreover, was at one time the ardour for reform that some years ago a representative assembly was established; but enthusiastic advocates of democracy will learn with regret though, perhaps, not altogether with surprise that it proved a complete failure, and does not now, I believe, form a part of the constitution, even on paper. The Council of Ministers is the real power in the State, provided always that it does not overstep its proper limits and act counter to the wishes of the king. It is the Council which checks every year the estimates sent up by the various departments, and regulates the amount of money to be allowed to each, while it has complete power to block any administrative scheme or legis

lative proposal that does not meet with its approval, and to hang it up for an indefinite period.

In matters of supreme importance, such as the making of foreign treaties, &c., the sole executive power remains vested in the king, but in ordinary departmental matters each Minister exercises it within his own peculiar province. The different Ministers are quite independent of one another, except in so far as they look for their supplies to the Cabinet and Treasury. Each Minister has a Vice-Minister, and under him are various officials and clerks of different grades. Nearly all departments now have the assistance of European advisers or other officers, whose power and authority vary with the nature of the work to be done. As it has been the policy of the Siamese to play off one European state against another where foreign affairs are concerned, so in matters of home administration they have been careful not to let themselves be saddled with officials of one single country, but, acting on the principle of divide et impera, have taken samples of as many different nationalities as possible. They have in particular shown partiality to two of the smaller European communities, Denmark and Belgium, from which countries respectively two of the king's most trusted advisers have been chosen. The British element nevertheless largely preponderates and seems to have relatively increased of late years. Perhaps the chief reason of this preponderance is the fact

that it is British officials only who, from their experience in India and Burmah and other Eastern countries, understand thoroughly the conditions under which the work in Siam is to be done.

Most of the chief posts in such important departments as the Treasury, Inland Revenue, the Customs, and the Education Department are held by British subjects, the leading officials in the Police, the Survey, the Forest, and the Mines Departments being also of the same nationality. The Post Office and the Railway are in the hands of Germans, while the European officers in the Navy are Danes, a people who are also prominent in commercial enterprise in Bangkok; and the legal advisers to the judges are Belgian lawyers. Frenchmen, however, have practically not been employed at all during recent years. A Dane, one of the most efficient officials in the country, is at the head of the provincial gendarmerie; but the Siamese have taken the control of their army into their own hands, though the Italian Major Gerini, so well known for his research work in Siamese history and archæology, is at the head of the military cadet school.

Some of these Europeans hold the title of Adviser, while others are Directors, or occupy under other names the posts in the various offices. The title of Adviser is a not unfamiliar one in the annals of British rule, being known in the Indian dependencies, in the Malay States, and elsewhere. It is one that suggests the iron hand in the velvet