MR SCOTT—VISIT TO THE LEGATION—ADEPTS AT INTRIGUE—MR ALABASTER ON
SIAM—EVERYTHING TAXED—THE REVENUE—_CORVÉE_ LABOUR—IMPOVERISHING THE
PEOPLE—THE OLD SCHOOL DYING OUT—THE IRON-ROAD A MAGICIAN’S WAND—KING
STORK—PUTTING A STOP TO CATTLE-THEFT—A PIQUANT STORY—CATTLE-LIFTING
BY OFFICIALS—A LINGERING LAWSUIT—EXTORTING CONFESSIONS—TORTURE AT
THE POLICE COURTS—THE LAST DAY’S AGONY—UNLAWFUL IMPRISONMENT—INSIDE
A PRISON—IMMORALITY OF PRINCES—FIT COMPANIONS—BROTHELS IN
BANGKOK—SELLING RELATIONS—CHANTING PRAYERS—FLOGGING WOMEN—THE
BIGGEST LIARS AND THIEVES—SLAVERY IN BANGKOK
On reaching the hotel I was glad to learn Mr Scott had arrived the
previous day, and Mr Colquhoun was expected in about a week. During part
of the Franco-Chinese war the former gentleman acted as Mr Colquhoun’s
secretary, and afterwards as correspondent for some of the home papers.
For many years he had been in Burmah, and had earned a high reputation
as a writer under the _nom de plume_ of Shwé Yoe. His charming work ‘The
Burman’ is elegantly written, and gives the best extant description of
the habits, manners, and customs of the Burmese. I was pleased to find
him willing to be my companion on future journeys of exploration, in
case Mr Colquhoun and I could arrange for the necessary funds for
carrying them out.
As soon as the boats were unloaded, I hired a house-boat from the hotel
and proceeded up the river to call upon Mr Satow, our consul-general,
and to receive the letters awaiting me. Mr Satow, previous to his
appointment at Bangkok, had for many years been attached to our ministry
in Japan, and is considered the best European authority upon that
country. His library of Japanese works—comprising books from the
earliest times to recent date, many of them beautifully
illustrated—filled several large rooms, and necessitated his employing a
Japanese librarian to attend to them. He gave me a hearty welcome, and
subsequently, on Mr Colquhoun’s departure for China, became my host for
some weeks during my stay in Bangkok, and did all he could to make my
visit pleasant. He proved to be a most agreeable acquaintance, a student
both of books and men, and an admirable musician. He possessed great
tact, and the rare capacity of rapid insight into the characters, mode
of thought, and action of people with whom he came in contact. Without
the latter faculty, our minister in Siam would be worse than useless,
because the Siamese are adepts at intrigue, besides being malicious,
cunning, treacherous, tricky, and untruthful beyond conception. I was
informed by some of their European underlings that Siamese strategy had
caused the removal of former British consul-generals, and that a similar
victory could easily be attained again if the whim moved them. Unless
backed up by our Foreign Office, our minister in Siam would be in a very
unpleasant position.
Before returning to the hotel I visited the other members of our
legation, Mr French, Mr Cording, and Mr Archer, and had a long and
pleasant conversation with them. They gave me a good idea of the place
and the people, and showed me many interesting articles of _virtu_ which
they had collected. I am especially indebted to Mr French for a
beautiful collection of Siamese china which he enabled me to purchase,
and to Mr Cording and Mr Archer for much of the pleasantness of my visit
to Bangkok.
During the next few days I made a series of visits to various foreign
consuls, missionaries, merchants, and gentlemen in Siamese employment,
and gained much information upon the hindrances and prospects of trade,
and the condition of the people of the country. Every one was of opinion
that the state of the people could not be much worse than it is, and
that it would be difficult to imagine any further hindrances to inland
trade than already existed. Mr Alabaster, the confidential adviser of
the king, who has since died, told me that nine-tenths of the
non-Chinese inhabitants of Bangkok were slaves; that squeezing was so
universal amongst the nobility, officials, and monopolists, that no man
could become rich in the country unless he purchased an appointment, and
thus became one of the rulers; and that justice in the courts was a
farce—the heaviest purse, or the most powerful person, invariably
winning the case: besides which, if a man was believed to be in
possession of money, false charges were brought against him, directly or
indirectly, by the officials, in order to wring the money out of him.
The taxes of the country were farmed to Chinese monopolists, who, being
in league with the officials, collected far more than their dues.
Everything in the country was taxed—even bamboos, mats for thatching,
and firewood. An old woman could not collect a few sticks into bundles
for sale without giving up one-fifth of the bundles to the creatures of
the monopolists. A man could not fish even in the sea without paying
taxes on his boat, stakes, nets, lines, and hooks. The mesh of the
Government net was so fine that it missed nothing; everything that was
marketable was taxed in Siam. The revenue coming into official hands was
known to exceed three millions sterling a year, but only twelve hundred
thousand of that ever found its way into the Treasury; and he believed
that he was within bounds when he stated that between five and six
millions were collected lawfully and unlawfully, by tax-gatherers and
monopolists, from the people.
Outside foreigners and Chinese, all the people resident in the country
who were not slaves were serfs, and unable to leave their districts
without the permission of their Government masters. The majority of them
were forced to work thrice a year for a month at a time without
recompense by their Government masters, or pay heavily for a substitute
to be procured. This simply impoverished the people, not only from loss
of time, but by preventing them from entering into trade and interfering
with their agricultural pursuits. It was true that the king and Prince
Devawongse—his most trustworthy and trusted minister—really desired the
welfare of the country, and that their power was gradually increasing;
but the vested interests of the deceased regent’s family[28] were so
great, and the nobility and officials were so generally vicious and
corrupt, that considerable time and tact would be required to clean out
the Augean stables of Siam. A railway might be the best way of
strengthening the king’s hands—it would certainly mean the death of
serfdom and slavery, and act like a magician’s wand in improving the
position of the people; but it could never be made to pay if the present
evil condition of the country continued.
The latest scandal that had occurred at the date of my visit was caused
by the Lord Mayor of Bangkok, one of the half-brothers of the king, who
governed the city as King Stork governed the frogs, by gobbling up all
within reach of his beak. He was described to me as selfish, sensual,
and depraved; a cold-hearted libertine, without the poor gloss and with
none of the social attractions of a Lovelace, who gave way
unrestrainedly to the indulgence of his appetites, and had as cruel
inclinations as any devil yet depicted by monkish mind. On the plea of
putting a stop to cattle-theft, he had issued an order that every owner
of cattle must be able to show a written receipt indicating from whom
they were purchased. He then, according to my informants, sent his
satellites round to lift and convey to his own pastures the confiscated
cattle, which of course included those bred by the peasantry on their
own lands. Many of the cultivators had been thus, in one fell swoop,
deprived of their only means of tilling their fields. To get rid of such
a tyrant and his myrmidons would be like getting rid of the devil and
all his angels. It was quite refreshing to me to hear some months ago
that this scoundrel had been removed from his office, and that there was
some talk of making Prince Devawongse Minister of Justice.
A story, worthy of enshrinement for its humour, was related to me by Mr
Van Dyke, one of the missionaries at Petchaburi. According to him, the
governor of that province having procured a prize bull, invited the
people of his neighbourhood to bring their cows to be served by his
noble animal; and after the cows had dropped, claimed the calves as his
property, on the ground that his bull was their father. Another anecdote
was told me by the same missionary: A man came from Ratburri to
Petchaburi in search of four cattle that had been stolen. Mr Van Dyke
advised him to look for them in the governor’s fields. He did so, and
found them grazing there, and returned and told the missionary it was no
use taking any action for their recovery, as the thief was too powerful
and would judge the case. He then set his face homewards. I could fill a
good-sized book with similar stories of various governors and other
officials which were related to me whilst in Bangkok.
The Rev. S. J. Smith, who edited a newspaper in Bangkok, gave me an
instance of the extortion practised in the courts in the case of Sang,
his head-printer. Six years before, Sang quarrelled and came to blows
with a man, and each laid a complaint against the other in the court.
Since then the two men had been called up periodically, forced to pay
court fees, and then sent back without their case being heard. It was
likely to remain on the lists as long as money could be squeezed out of
the men. The law as administered in Siam, evidently plays with its
victims as a cat does with a mouse. Other missionaries gave me similar
instances which had come under their notice.
From a European inspector of police in Siamese service, I learnt the
method by which confessions were extorted in the police courts. If a man
is arrested on suspicion of theft or other crimes, he is at once put in
irons, and when brought before the magistrate, is questioned very
roughly by the magistrate and his understrappers, and often asked most
insolent questions having nothing to do with the case. If the truth of
his answers is doubted, his face is slapped with the sole of a shoe
until sometimes the blood flows from his mouth. If he does not then
allow that he is guilty, his head is fastened in the centre of a bamboo
yoke formed like a short ladder, his hands are tied in front of him to
the yoke, one end of which rests on the ground, and he is made to sit
down with his body inclined forwards and his legs outstretched. A rope
is then fastened to his ankles and to a peg in front, so as to prevent
him from bending his knees. Another rope is tied round his waist and to
a peg some distance to the rear, and tightened so as to stretch the skin
of his back as tight as a drum-head. He is then thrashed above the waist
with a long cane, getting fifteen or twenty strokes. If he still avers
that he is innocent, the strokes are increased to thirty: this is
considered to be sufficient torture for the first day. The cane is drawn
along the back like a whip, blood is drawn with the first stroke, and
his or her back is completely lacerated at the end of the punishment.
All the while the thrashing is going on, the magistrate, jailers,
clerks, and other officials sit round about jeering at the man, and
telling him he had better confess. The performance is varied by striking
the presumed criminal on the tender parts of the hips and arms with a
piece of raw hide the thickness of an inch, twisted like a rope, which,
though as hard as iron, is slightly pliable. This often occurs between
the lashes—ten lashes, then a hammering.
After his first dose he is left to cogitate for a whole day whether he
will allow himself guilty or not. Then he is had up again into the yard
of the court where the case is being tried, and trussed up as formerly
and again flogged, getting ten or fifteen lashes. Should he still say
that he is innocent, the number of blows is completed to thirty
altogether, and he receives the usual intermittent hammerings. His
fingers are clasped and beaten to a jelly with the hide, and if he does
not then confess himself guilty, he is allowed another day’s rest, after
which he receives another ten strokes, and is again interrogated. If he
is still obstinate, the tally of thirty strokes is completed, he being
interrogated and hammered between each five stripes. This makes ninety
stripes, the full number that a magistrate is allowed to give.
The above punishment happens when a man or woman is had up on suspicion.
If the tortured person does not confess before the close of ninety
strokes, he or she is considered to be innocent. According to my
informant, such a case seldom happens, for nearly invariably innocent
folk confess to having committed the crime merely to save themselves
from the balance of the punishment. If on the third day the number of
the strokes is verging on the ninety, and the victim is still obdurate,
a piece of flat wood, one and a half inch broad, and a quarter of an
inch thick, is placed on each side of the head above the ear across the
temples, and the two ends of each are brought together and fastened like
a loop-spring. The top of the bow is then struck. The vibration is
nearly equal to striking the temple, and then passes through the whole
system, causing great agony. This form of torture is said to occur at
least once a week in Bangkok.
After each day’s punishment, the bamboo yoke is taken off, and the
victim lies face downwards, whilst a friend or another prisoner tramples
on the wounds to keep the swellings down: a wet cloth or wet rag, if
handy, is then thrown over his back. If the ninety strokes are received
by a prisoner without his confessing, he is still, though against law,
kept in jail on suspicion to the day of his death, which, as the jails
are the foulest holes that can be imagined, generally occurs within a
few months. This unlawful imprisonment happens because the authorities
do not wish it to be known that they have tortured an innocent person.
The best-kept and most commodious prison in Bangkok is said to be that
of the Mixed Court, which I visited in the company of a member of one of
the consulates. On our entry we found amongst the manacled and chained
inhabitants—men and women sleep in the same den with a chain run through
their leg-irons at night—a little girl, nine years of age, who had been
in prison more than a year for losing a small boat she had been left in
charge of,—a boat that had been swept away by the swift current of the
river whilst the child had been thoughtlessly playing in the
neighbourhood. On inquiry I learnt that the child would not be released
until the boat was paid for, or until the hard-hearted prosecutor, who
had perhaps forgotten her existence, chose to forgive the debt. If we
had not visited the prison, in which the stench was so bad that we had
frequently to go outside to get a breath of fresh air, the child would
have rotted in that deadly atmosphere, amongst her perhaps equally
innocent companions, until kindly released by death.
The state of morality amongst the officials in Bangkok may be judged
from the fact that many of the princes and nobles treat the
brothel-keepers, some of whom wear his Majesty’s uniform, as bosom
friends, and are seen riding in the same carriage with them. The
description of the brothels in Bangkok, as given to me by one of the
police inspectors, was most revolting. The prostitutes are all slaves,
having been sold by their nearest relations in order to pay their
gambling debts, or to aid their parents who are in the clutches of the
law, the parents promising to buy them back as soon as they can. As a
rule, they are said to be far more modest and particular than the same
class of women in Europe.
Previous to being sold into a brothel, the girl has to be taken to the
Lord Mayor’s office, where she is asked if she consents to become a
prostitute. Often, although hardly able to speak for tears, they dare
not refuse, and a mere gesture is taken for consent. Their relations are
allowed to flog them within an inch of their life, and if they do not
die within fifteen days of their flogging, their death is not considered
to have been caused by it. There is therefore no chance for a girl to
escape her doom in the brothel. On being sold she has to declare that
she was born before 1868 (the year when the king came to the throne),
for otherwise she could not be sold for more than two guineas (22
ticals). The law is easily evaded, like every other law in Siam. If a
girl says she is thirty-three or thirty-four when she is only fifteen,
the officials would not take the trouble to question her assertion, and
if they did, their conscience would soon be satisfied with a small
bribe.
Every night when the house is closed, the inmates sit in a circle on the
floor and sing or chant a prayer for their health and prosperity and for
that of their owner. This in most houses is compulsory, but it becomes
habitual to the girls. Each night one or two of the girls must, turn and
turn about, provide oil for the lamps, and flowers for decorating the
rooms, out of any presents they have received. If one of them has
received no presents, she is considered by her owner to have been lax in
her blandishments, and receives a good flogging. The howls of these poor
creatures, together with the whish of the cane, is heard through the
city in the early hours of the morning.
The magistrates in Bangkok have the reputation of being the biggest
liars in the country, and the police are said to be the greatest
thieves. So unsafe are the people from false charges and lawsuits, that
they willingly become the slaves of the powerful in order to gain their
protection. Thus, according to the inspector, not five per cent of the
Siamese in Bangkok are in possession of their freedom.