WHITE ELEPHANTS AND WHITE MONKIES.--TASTE OF THE
SIAMESE.--BRAHMANS AND HINDUISM IN SIAM.--LIBRARY OF THE
TEMPLE.--ENORMOUS GUNS.--TRADE OF SIAM A ROYAL MONOPOLY.--CHINESE
EMIGRANTS.--SUGAR.--SIAMESE POLICY RESPECTING TRADE.--POLICY
OF THE ULTRA GANGETIC NATIONS.--AN EMBASSY ARRIVES FROM COCHIN
CHINA.--PROCESSION OF ROYAL BARGES OF SIAM TO RECEIVE IT.--SIAMESE
MUSIC.--REFLECTIONS ON THE RESULT OF THE MISSION.
The Moormen, and the two men who had conducted us to the audience-hall,
now conducted us through the different courts of the palace. We
were still followed by a dirty, mean-looking rabble, whose impudent
behaviour was from time to time checked by the two police men, our
guides. The streets were remarkably dirty, so that for the greater part
of the way we had to walk up to the ancle in mud and water. However,
no offer was made to procure us our shoes until we had gone through
the whole ceremony of seeing the strange sights of this palace, a
tedious and not very gratifying ceremony, which occupied us nearly two
hours. The sun had, after the shower, shone out with intense power; the
stones over which we passed had in consequence been rendered very hot,
and the alternate passing from these stones into the wet and puddles
rendered the promenade not altogether agreeable to persons unaccustomed
to walk bare-footed.
We were first conducted to the stables of the white elephants, which,
being held in great veneration by the Siamese, are kept within the
inner enclosure of the palace, and have habitations allotted to them
quite close to those of the King himself.
Of white elephants there are at the present time no fewer than five in
the possession of the King, whence we may infer that this variety is
far less rare than we are accustomed to believe, at least, that is so
in the further peninsula of India. It has, however, seldom happened
that so many have been collected at one period, and the present is
regarded as auspicious in consequence of an event so unexpected, and so
much desired. A white elephant is still reckoned as beyond all value,
every effort is made to take them when they are by chance discovered,
and the subjects of the King can perform no more gratifying service
than that of securing them. They, and indeed all elephants, are the
property of the King only.
The appellation white, as applied to the elephants, must be received
with some degree of limitation; the animal is in fact an occasional
variety, of less frequent occurrence indeed, but in every respect
analogous to what occurs in other orders of animals, and, amongst the
rest, in the human species. They are, correctly speaking, Albinos, and
are possessed of all the peculiarities of that abnormal production; but
of these _white_ elephants, it was remarkable that the organ of sight
was to all appearance natural and sound, in no way intolerant of light,
readily accommodating itself to the different degrees of light and
shade, and capable of being steadily directed to objects at the will
of the animal; in short, similar in all respects to that of the common
elephant, with the exception of the iris, which was of a pure white
colour. In this respect, they resembled all the quadrupedal albinos
that I had hitherto seen, as those among horses, cows, rabbits. This
circumstance I should scarce have thought worth the noticing, were it
not that I shall have occasion to mention in the sequel an instance
of an animal of the albino kind, possessed of the peculiar eye of the
human albino. In one or two of the elephants, the colour was strictly
white, and in all of them the iris was of that colour, as well as the
margins of the eye-lids; in the rest, the colour had a cast of pink in
it. The hairs upon the body were for the most part yellowish, but much
more scanty, finer, and shorter than in other elephants; the strong
hairs of the tail were darker, but still of a yellowish colour. In
none did the colour and texture of the skin appear entirely healthy.
In some, the cuticular texture of the legs was interspersed with
glandular knobs, which gave a deformed appearance to these members.
In others the skin of the body was uncommonly dry, while the natural
wrinkles were unusually large, secreted an acrid-like fluid, and seemed
ready to burst out into disease. These beasts were all of small size,
but in excellent condition, and one of them was even handsome. They
were treated with the greatest attention, each having several keepers
attached to him. Fresh-cut grass was placed in abundance by their side;
they stood on a small boarded platform, kept clean; a white cloth was
spread before them, and while we were present they were fed with sliced
sugar-cane, and bunches of plantains.
In the same place we observed rather a fine-looking elephant, but a
small one, which appeared to me to be a greater object of curiosity
than any of the others. This animal was covered all over with black
spots, about the size of a pea, upon a white base. It is not unusual
to observe a partial degree of this spotted appearance in the elephant
of Bengal, as on the forehead and trunk of the animal, but in this
instance the skin was entirely covered with them.
The greatest regard is entertained in Siam for the White Elephant.
He who discovers one is regarded as the most fortunate of mortals.
The event is of that importance, that it may be said to constitute an
era in the annals of the nation. The fortunate discoverer is rewarded
with a crown of silver, and with a grant of land equal in extent to
the space of country at which the elephants’ cry may be heard. He and
his family, to the third generation, are exempted from all sorts of
servitude, and their land from taxation.
The next and only other animals that we saw here, are certainly of very
rare occurrence, and objects of great curiosity. These were two White
Monkies, perfect albinos in every respect. They are about the size of
a small dog, furnished with a tail about as long as the body. They are
thickly covered with fur, which is as white as snow, or that of the
whitest rabbit. The lips, eye-lids, and feet are distinguished by the
inanimate whiteness of the skin noticed in the human albino, while the
general appearance of the iris, the eye, and even the countenance, the
intolerance of light, the unsettled air they assumed, and the grimace
they affected, afforded so many points of resemblance between them and
that unhappy variety of our species, as rendered the sight disgusting
and humiliating. One who had seen a perfect albino of the human
species, would find it impossible to separate the impression of his
appearance from that of the animals now before us. These had but little
of the vivacity or mischievous disposition for which this tribe is so
remarkable. All their movements, all their attitudes, had for their
apparent object the lessening the effect of light and glare, towards
which they always turned their backs. Their eye-brows seemed pursed up
and contracted, the pupils were of a light rose-colour, the irides of a
very pale cast of blue. One was very old, and had but few teeth in his
head. His lips were beside remarkably thick, and apparently diseased.
The other was much younger.
It did not appear that they were held in any degree of veneration by
the Siamese; we learned that they were placed here from superstitious
motives, with the object, as they said, of preventing evil spirits from
killing the white elephants.
We next proceeded to visit a temple situated at a short distance beyond
the hall of audience. The court is spacious and neat, containing,
besides the temple, a handsome small building, in which their sacred
books are deposited. At each of the principal gates are placed
gigantic earthen images, of grotesque form, with clubs in their hands,
and at each angle of the temple brass figures of a fanciful animal,
somewhat resembling a lion. Besides, there were other figures made
of clay, paltry in appearance and absurd in design. The temple is
of a pyramidal form, highly wrought with minute figures, somewhat
in the Chinese style. The character of the ornaments, like that of
the paintings on the stern of a Chinese junk, is operose, unmeaning,
and grotesque; yet the general effect was in the present instance
not unpleasing to the spectator, who regarding it at some distance,
overlooked the minuteness alluded to. I remarked that the Siamese
have adopted the pyramid, generally a quadrangular one, instead of
the dome, the only form in which the Bauddhists of Ceylon build the
sepulchral edifice called Dagoba, the architectural characteristic of
their religion. The cause of this difference, in a matter so closely
interwoven with their religion, is probably to be looked for in the
different genius of the nations, to which cause also we must attribute
the difference observable in their respective images of Buddha
himself, for to the individuals of neither people are we to look for
the original exemplar of that form. The Siamese, like other tribes
of the Moghul race, seem to have formed to themselves a standard of
beauty, differing both from that of Europeans and of Indians. Hence the
sharp, the harsh, the fanciful, the improbable, are more considered
by them than the soft, the majestic, and the just in architecture.
The different forms given to the Dagoba, and to their temples and
palaces, would illustrate this remark. A similar taste is displayed
in the decorations of their private houses, in which you look in vain
for truth or nature in the representation of animal beings. A wild
unchastened fancy prevails among them; hence the origin of monsters and
of the grotesque figures which cover the walls of the houses of their
chiefs. Yet, though monstrous, unnatural, and unmeaning, they are not
altogether destitute of a certain degree of spirit and of boldness
in the execution. What degree and kind of genius they may possess in
music and in the arts remains to be seen. In the actual state of our
knowledge, I cannot but consider the Siamese as prodigiously inferior
to the rude inhabitants of the interior of Ceylon, with whom, as
professing the same religion, they will admit of a comparison. In the
elegant and imposing structure of the Dagoba, in the numerous figures
of Buddha, whether made of earth, stone, ivory, brass, wood, silver,
or gold, the latter are manifestly superior artists and architects.
The Siamese would appear to excel in the number of their images, the
Kandians in their quality. The Siamese temple, rich in the frippery and
tinsel of a Chinaman’s toy-shop, with its three hundred images, reminds
you more of children’s playthings than of the place of devotion; while
the Kandian, by the skilful distribution of light and shade, and proper
position of one, or, at most, of a few well-executed images, produces
an effect at once solemn, majestic, and impressive.
But if this obliquity of genius, if I may so call it, be so remarkable
in the matters already alluded to, it is still more so in all that is
calculated to give an insight into the constitution of their mind.
The people are governed by opinion, absurd and unjust, not by reason,
by sense, nor by kindness. The most degrading and brutal tyranny is
mistaken for well-meaning patriarchal kindness; and the oppression of
the multitude, and the grinding of the many, is regarded as the will of
the Deity. No man either wishes for, or aspires to, freedom of thought
or of action; and tyranny has cast its roots so deep, that change would
seem hopeless.
But to return to the temple. I have observed that it was of a pyramidal
form, the point terminating in a slender spire, about 200 feet high.
Within, the building constituted a single lofty chamber, about 50 feet
long, and nearly as much in breadth, paved with stones. In the centre
were placed, on irregular stages, a countless number of small figures
of Buddha, intermixed with bits of looking-glass, scraps of gilded
paper, and Chinese paintings. Surmounting the rest was a figure of
Buddha, about a foot and a half high, in a sitting posture, made, as
our guides would have us to believe, of emerald. The stone was either
the Chinese figure-stone, or Heliotrope, but it was placed at too great
a distance for us to be able to say exactly which. There was here
nothing in the shape of an altar, nor any convenience save the floor on
which to place fruit and flowers, the usual offerings made to Buddha.
A number of vagrant, idle people, had followed us. They entered the
temple, and behaved with a degree of noisy indecorum, which could not
fail to surprise us.
Surrounding the temple, and forming its enclosure, there is a paved
passage, covered in above, and supported by pillars. The walls of
this passage are covered with rude paintings of allegorical subjects,
chiefly taken from the story of the Ramayana, a celebrated epic poem
of the Hindus. It would appear, indeed, that many of the absurdities
of the Hindu religion are intermingled with that of Buddha. There are
in Bankok a few Brahmans, who are entertained by the king, and have
built a small temple. The Siamese cultivate a lock of hair on the
forehead, which lock they preserve from birth to the age of twelve,
fourteen, or sixteen, untouched. At the expiration of this period, they
institute a great feast; presents are made by all the relations and
friends of the family, and the occasion is rendered one of great joy.
The Brahman then, sprinkling a little water on the head, and repeating
certain prayers, cuts the lock. When the children of the king undergo
this ceremony, an artificial hill is constructed, on which the Brahman
performs the ceremony.
Close to the temple stands the pyramidal building, in which the sacred
books are kept. You ascend to it by a flight of steps, covered with
plates of tin, as is also the floor of the room. The books cannot be
very numerous. They are contained in a pyramidal upright cupboard,
richly ornamented with small pieces of mother-of-pearl.
Returning by the road we had entered, we repassed the inner and second
gates of the palace, when we found ourselves in the enclosure where we
had halted for some time before entering the audience-hall. The only
objects worthy of remark in this place were several ridiculously and
uselessly large brass guns. They must, from their size, be equally
unserviceable and unmanageable. They seemed, however, to pride
themselves not a little in possessing guns of such a calibre. They
appeared to have been uncommonly well cast.
Having now been shewn all that was thought worthy of notice, we were
reconducted to the room in which we had first halted. It was again
soon filled with the rabble. A plentiful dessert of sweet-meats was
introduced, and the Moorman was particularly desirous that we should
partake of it. But it was impossible to overlook the mean condition
of those left to entertain us, the disreputable appearance of the
building, or the jeering and disrespectful conduct of the herd of
spectators that crowded round us. It seemed as if the court had said,
_See them feed_.
As we were leaving the palace, several of the chiefs were returning
home at the same time, and afforded us an opportunity of observing that
they used vehicles more respectable and more comfortable than those
they had assigned for the use of the Agent to the Governor General. We
now procured our slung hammocks, and were carried back to our boats.
About one, P. M., we reached the ship.
A large quantity of sweet-meats, those which had been placed before us
on our visit to the palace, was sent home after us; and, in the course
of the afternoon, the chief, Suri-wong, paid the Agent to the Governor
General a visit, and said that he had been desired to entertain us with
a dinner. A profusion of roasted pork, goats’ flesh, ducks, fowls, &c.,
was then brought by his servants and laid on the table, together with a
couple of decanters of a wine nearly as strong and fiery as brandy. He
remained a spectator of the entertainment, but would not eat or drink
with us. He conversed with more ease with us than he had hitherto done.
He said we had been highly honoured, and seemed to be quite pleased
with the transactions of the day. He asked many questions, and wished
to be thought easy and free, but his manner was coarse and impolite to
a degree quite unusual in an Asiatic. * * * * *
On reviewing the transactions of this day, and connecting them with the
general conduct of the officers of the Siamese government towards the
mission, from the period of our arrival in the country, it will appear
that we had but little reason to be elated with success, or proud of
our reception at court.
In their visits, the most petty officers arrogated a superiority which
certainly did not belong to their inferior station, for some of them
turned out to be low retainers of the chiefs, to whom they performed
the offices of menials, and crouched on the ground before them, as we
afterwards found on visiting those chiefs. The demand that the guns
should be landed before we proceeded up the river, though a punctilio
they readily conceded, but little stress having to all appearance been
laid upon it from the commencement, shewed that nothing was beneath
their notice, and we may infer from their sending a single narrow boat,
capable of holding at most but three persons, on a short journey, for
the accommodation of the Agent to the Governor General, that they
wished to hold the mission very cheap.
After we had arrived nearly opposite to the palace, no notice whatever
was taken of the ship, any more than if she had not been there, and
the first communication had for its object to obtain possession of the
presents sent by the Governor General. It was impossible to attribute
to ignorance their affected indifference, and studied inattention to
whatever related to the accommodation, the wants, or the comforts of
the gentlemen of the mission. Hospitality is a virtue not altogether
unknown to any nation or people; with politeness, it is much the
same. Their leading features are acknowledged by all people. Nations
differ only in the mode of their expression. On these points there
seems no reason to believe that the Siamese are much behind their
neighbours. To individuals they had often behaved with attention and
kindness, and particularly so to the captains of ships and European
traders. The inference therefore is, that, in the present instance,
they listened to political motives only, and though the matter was of
that trifling importance as scarce to deserve mention, yet, taken in
conjunction with their conduct in other matters, it throws some light
upon the view in which they held the present mission. Every person
of rank carefully abstained from coming near us, Kochai Sahac, being
the channel of reference to the chief Suri-Wong Montree, who is not
among the persons of the highest rank, but only acting[6]Barkalan,
the chief, whose office this is, being either too old, or otherwise
incapable of attending to his duties. Our introduction to the king,
and the particular place assigned to the mission, at the audience, and
other circumstances before alluded to, require no comment. The court
in granting a public audience had displayed its power, and perhaps
its riches, motives of themselves sufficient to induce a government
supported chiefly by appearances, to grant such audience. It is known
that the king receives envoys from other potentates in a very different
manner, with ceremony, with pomp, wearing his crown at the audience. It
was evident therefore that they affected to treat the mission from the
Governor General of Bengal as of inferior consequence, and that they
meant to consider it in the light of a deputation from the governor
of a province, such deputations being common amongst the neighbouring
powers. This matter was placed beyond a doubt some days afterwards, the
moorman Kochai stating that the mission had been received by the king
as a deputation from a provincial government.
Seeing that no notice whatever was taken, nor even mention made, of the
letter from the Governor General at our public presentation, we could
no longer entertain doubts as to the idea which they wished to impress
upon the public mind respecting the importance of the government of
Bengal. We, however, had abundant reason to believe that well-informed
persons about the government were not ignorant of the vast power, the
extensive dominion, the unparalleled equity of that government.
The presents from the Governor General were laid out before us in the
hall, and a crier read in a loud voice a list of them, a circumstance
also open to suspicion, particularly as the interpreters to the mission
were not permitted to be present, or even to pass the inner gate of the
palace. Under such circumstances it appeared that they might represent
our word _presents_ in whatever light was most flattering to their
pride, their vanity, or their crooked policy.
With respect to the actual objects of the mission, the proposals were
so moderate, so obviously of mutual advantage, that, from all we could
yet learn, the government would be as anxious to confer them as ours to
receive them.
The encouragement given to the Chinese traders and labourers, and the
limited adventures of the king and some of the principal men about
him, had given them a foretaste of the advantages of commerce, which
they were now very anxious to improve. They were becoming sensible
of the errors created by their cupidity, in imposing innumerable and
vexatious duties. Blind to their real interests, as well as ignorant
of the practice of commerce, the king and his ministers still continue
to be the sole merchants, retaining in their own hands the monopoly
of all articles of consequence, and holding it contraband for any
others to intermeddle. They have yet to learn that it is possible
to fill the treasury with less risk, less trouble, and more credit,
from the industry and fair profits of their subjects; and hence King
Chau-chee-veet, “the Lord of Life,” continues to be the first trader in
his kingdom.
It is to the Chinese nation that they are indebted for whatever
knowledge they possess of the advantages of commercial intercourse. In
defiance of the laws of the celestial empire, there would appear to be
scarcely any limit to the extent of emigration from that great empire.
Her subjects are the best and most industrious part of the population
of the surrounding nations, over whom their industry, their superior
intelligence, and knowledge of the arts, have given them a great and
decided superiority. Siam, a country sunk under the most debasing
tyranny, destitute alike of arts and commerce, offered a fair field for
the developement of their superiority. Fear had long opposed obstacles
to the increase of the Chinese, till at length the government either
from conscious incapacity of restraining them longer, or from motives
of a different nature, has at length given them the most unbounded
encouragement, and granted them privileges which render their condition
infinitely preferable to that of the natives of the country. On the
other hand the benefits which the Chinese emigrants have conferred
upon this rude nation, are of obvious and striking utility, and of no
ordinary importance. They have sown the seeds of commercial enterprise.
They have created commerce where none previously existed, and with
their hands they have, as it were, called into existence some of the
more valuable objects of commerce. Scarce twenty years have elapsed
since the first sugar canes were planted in this kingdom. The annual
produce in sugar, at the present time, is stated to amount to 30,000
peculs, of 133-1/2 lbs. each, or 1788 tons. This constitutes, in
fact, the most valuable commercial article of the realm. The culture
is managed solely by the Chinese, and it is the opinion of the chief
Suri-Wong, that it may be carried to an almost unlimited extent.
Such being the nature of the advantages derived from the unremitting
industry of the Chinese, it is not to be wondered at, if that people
should enjoy privileges denied to European and other nations. Chinese
traders are accordingly subjected to less vexatious proceedings in
their commercial transactions, and are even allowed to purchase the
principal commodities at a lower rate of duty than other nations, the
difference in the article of sugar amounting to fifty per cent. less
than the general rate.
Not satisfied, however, with the trade carried on by the Chinese junks,
the king has shewn a strong desire to increase its extent, although
the means which he has adopted are not well calculated to effect
that object. His proper subjects are altogether ignorant of maritime
science, and seem to possess but few of the qualities necessary to
ensure success in such employments; he is therefore under the necessity
of employing foreigners, as native Christians, Arabs, and other
Mahommedans, to navigate his vessels. He, nevertheless, sends annually
to various ports in China from ten to twelve junks, of moderate size,
laden with sugar, pepper, sapan, and iron wood.
It is, however, with the commercial nations of Europe that he is most
desirous to establish the relations of trade. The great size of their
vessels, their valuable and select cargoes, and more particularly
their ready command of capital, and integrity of conduct, place them
at once beyond competition and rivalship. A conscious sense of his own
weakness, however, operates strongly as a check upon his intercourse
with Europeans. To these fears a debasing cupidity is superadded, and
the result is exhibited in a code of irksome and illiberal regulations,
calculated at once to disgust and to disappoint the liberal-minded
trader. In the actual condition of the existing government, there is
but little room to hope for amelioration of policy, or improvement
of circumstances. Still less, I conceive, are we to expect that they
will lay aside their old prejudices, and adopt in their stead those
regulations which, amongst Europeans, are the foundation of what is
called free trade. They may, indeed, be induced to lower the duties on
certain articles, but it is to be feared that neither the king nor his
ministers will abandon their favourite system of monopoly.
That the Siamese government is not disposed, at the present time,
to adopt the European notions of free trade, we have a proof in its
conduct with regard to the trading brig, Phœnix, belonging to Mr.
Storm. Trusting probably to the favourable disposition produced by
the mission, this vessel was freighted with articles from Calcutta,
which were conceived to be adapted to the Siamese market. She had no
sooner arrived at the mouth of the river, than it was communicated by
the Siamese government to the Agent to the Governor General that this
vessel should afford an instance of the disposition of the government,
and that she should enjoy all the privileges and advantages which the
royal Majesty of Siam meant to confer upon British merchants. The
ordinary policy was immediately resorted to. The king and his ministers
insist on the privilege of purchasing before any permission can be
granted to trade. They send to demand musters of the articles imported,
and affix their own price for such as they wish to purchase. Three
weeks have thus passed before any final answer is returned, or the
musters sent back, during the whole of which time no boat, no trader,
no individual of any description, is permitted to visit the ship, or to
hold intercourse with the owners on board. It may be readily conceived
that no subject will dare to offer a higher price than that which has
been tendered by the king and his ministers. The waste of time must
of itself be no little inconvenience to the merchant. It would seem as
if it were the object of the Siamese government to disgust the trader,
in this manner, by unnecessary delay, hoping thereby to reduce him
to the necessity of selling his goods on their own, or, at least, on
more moderate terms. In the meanwhile the most evasive answers are
returned to every proposition. The slightest and most indifferent
matters are rendered a source of annoyance, nor is any proposition or
representation on the part of the trader met openly and candidly, but
shuffled off in a mean and paltry manner.
From the conduct of the government towards this ship, it soon became
apparent how little they were disposed to grant to British merchants.
The Agent to the Governor General had been assured that the duties
should be lowered two per cent. below the present rate. It was now
unequivocally stated that no such reduction should take place until the
English sent five ships annually: it was afterwards stated that this
reduction would be enforced after the period of two years or so.
The most urgent and frequently repeated solicitations could not induce
them to give any answer on the subject of trade for the course of an
entire month, nor could the musters which they had demanded from Mr.
Storm be got back again. It afterwards appeared that one object of this
delay was to give time to the junks to arrive from Singapore with their
cargoes, by which means during this delay the prices of articles were
reduced twenty per cent.
While the ship lay here, it was vain to expect to be able to dispose
of any thing until the government had returned an answer. At length
a communication was made to the effect that the government would
purchase, but on terms to which Mr. Storm could not accede. The latter
now expected that he should be able to dispose of his goods to the
inhabitants of the place, but none of them ever came near him, nor
could they dare to offer a higher price than that tendered by the
Pra-Klang.
It will no doubt appear strange that a people, so anxious for the
commerce of European nations, as to hold out privileges in proportion
to the extent of that trade, should notwithstanding raise so many
obstacles against the obvious tendency of their apparent measures.
Various and very opposite feelings would appear to have given birth
to this manifest inconsistency of conduct--of which national pride,
and undisguised cupidity, vindicate a large share. There can be
little doubt but that much of the annoyance given to the European
trader is viewed by them as a matter of exultation--and it must be
confessed that the eagerness with which the former have sought for
their commerce, leading them to submit to insult and degradation, has
cherished this sentiment on the part both of the government and of
the people. It is the nature of the Ultra-Gangetic nations to rise in
their demands in proportion as they can enforce, or in any way procure
submission to their will. They are universally more influenced by
firmness, boldness, and decision, than by the most sound and conclusive
arguments, the most mild, inoffensive, and conciliating conduct.
They are either insensible to, or regardless of, the latter sort of
argument. He that would have them listen to arguments of reason and
common sense, must be backed by the hand of power, and hold the rod
in reserve. From such people nothing but insult is to be expected by
submission; and as these nations have an unquestionable and natural
right to dictate the terms on which they will hold intercourse with
Europeans, it becomes a question of some interest, how far the conduct
usually pursued by the latter has had a good or bad effect in promoting
the interests of their respective countries.
Unfortunately for the credit of the commercial nations of Europe,
their subjects have conducted themselves in this trade with views
solely of personal interest, totally disregarding the honour and
character of the nation to which they have belonged. In order to gain
paltry advantages, they often submitted to accumulated injuries,
and to the most degrading insults. It has thence happened that the
character of Europeans, even at the present time, stands but very low
with the nations occupying the Eastern ports of Asia. The Chinese,
the most intelligent of these nations, affect to consider the British
as a nation of ingenious tradesmen, little better, in fact, than
watch-makers, who owe their prosperity to their intercourse with their
country. The Siamese, conscious of the power of our Indian government,
affect a less haughty tone, yet fancy themselves infinitely superior to
us, inasmuch as we are so eager to purchase their commerce. In common
with most nations, they entertain a high opinion of the bravery of
their countrymen,--of the strength of their armies, and of the superior
wealth of their country.
The petty disputes in which they are often engaged with the captains
of ships and other traders, who subject themselves to systematic
annoyance, have tended to confirm them in this good opinion. They
are either too ignorant, or too infatuated, to perceive, that the
latter, being in a great measure placed at their mercy, unsupported
by the authority of their own government, and destitute of every
means of redress, afford them a conquest as easy as it is inglorious
and dishonest. Every petty and unworthy advantage thus gained, is
magnified into a triumph, not merely over the individual, but over the
government of which he is the subject; for as they are ignorant of the
manners and customs and superior civilization of other nations, so they
cannot conceive that such great ships, and such valuable commodities,
can belong to any one but the king, or to some one of his principal
officers.
Another circumstance which has contributed to render the present
government more haughty and assuming in its transactions with
strangers, is the tranquillity which for a considerable number of years
has prevailed in this country; tranquillity for which they are more
indebted to the ignorance of their neighbours, than to the wisdom of
their own measures. They have not yet measured their strength with a
power more civilized than themselves.
It may be doubted also whether, notwithstanding their apparent wish
to increase commerce, the innumerable obstacles which Europeans in
particular have to contend with be not intentional, as tending to
increase the safety of their kingdom by discouraging the access of
strangers. The conduct of the government would seem to justify such an
opinion, though from motives of policy, it may be deemed prudent to
cloak such sentiments under feigned representations.
That a great, generous, and warlike nation, such as Great Britain,
should incur the possibility of having her national honour
slighted, if not tarnished, by any nation under the sun, far less
by a semi-barbarous people, experience has rendered less a matter
of surprise than of regret. It cannot be altogether a matter of
indifference what opinion shall be entertained of her by so large a
portion of the human race, as that occupying the countries between the
Ganges and the Yellow Sea. Neither is national honour a mere sound or
but an empty name--for in this sound rests the strength of kingdoms,
the safety of nations. It is this that fans the flame in the patriot’s
breast--it is this that nerves the soldier’s arm--it is this motive
which more than any other converts the man into the hero.
Britain may well command the esteem, if not the homage, of such
nations. An open, manly, and disinterested conduct, on the part of
her subjects, is alone sufficient to establish such an opinion; but
while the success of commercial enterprise is alone regarded, national
honour will be left to shift for itself. The immense value of the
commerce with China, doubtless, is an object of the most powerful
temptation--but with respect to Siam, no such motives exist. Her
commerce, supposing it altogether unshackled, and left to full and
free operation, is after all but very trifling. It seems doubtful
whether it be equal to employ annually four or five ships of moderate
size; and the most valuable commodities of the country are bulky, such
as sugar. The consumption of British manufactures by the natives is
trifling in the extreme. Britain has more to give than to receive from
such a nation.
But it more immediately concerns the honour and safety of our
Indian government to maintain a dignified and imposing attitude in
its intercourse with these nations. The existing government having
established an everlasting fame, upon the firmest basis, has also
raised its honour and its faith to an enviable height. They will
doubtless continue to watch over it with the most jealous care.
That the crazy, disjointed, and puny government of Siam should affect
to treat the government of Bengal as inferior, and that it should
impudently dare to consider an authorized envoy from that state, as a
messenger from a provincial government, may well excite our surprise
and indignation.
_May 6th._--About this period intelligence was brought to court that
an ambassador from Cochin China had arrived at the mouth of the
river. After crossing the peninsula of Cambodia, he took shipping at
the port of Saigon, and, attended by a numerous train of followers,
arrived at Paknam in a small fleet of praws. Notice of his arrival
was immediately conveyed to Court. The Chief of Paknam was ordered to
entertain the ambassador during his stay at that place, and in the mean
time the requisite measures were taken for the purpose of conveying
him to the capital in a manner suitable to his rank. The festivities
of Paknam, though not of the most costly nature, were probably the
best the country could afford. They lasted for several days, and
consisted chiefly of scenic representations, musical entertainments,
and gymnastic exercises.
An event of this nature was calculated to excite attention and awaken
curiosity; it was altogether unexpected by us. We were naturally
desirous to compare our own situation with that of the Cochin-Chinese,
endeavouring thence to form a judgment of the real sentiments of the
Siamese respecting the English mission.
What the real object of this embassy may have been, we had no correct
means of ascertaining, but the avowed and ostensible one was said to
have originated in a feeling of gratitude on the part of the reigning
king of Cochin China, for the asylum and protection that had been
granted to his predecessor by the King of Siam, in the midst of
his misfortunes, when his country was usurped by his own rebellious
subjects, and he himself an exile and a suppliant in the land of
strangers. He had now sent his ambassador to assure the King of Siam
of his good and peaceable intentions, and of his desire to confirm
the bonds of amity with a nation which had behaved with so much
disinterestedness towards his family, during the anarchy of the civil
war which had driven them from the throne.
An embassy which the same king had some time ago sent to the Barman
Court had excited distrust and jealousy in the Siamese, who regard the
Barmans as their natural and most implacable enemies. Watchful at all
times of the conduct of the Cochin-Chinese, and uncertain how the new
king of that country might be affected towards them, this unexpected
embassy to the Court of Amarapura awakened their fears. An embassy was
immediately sent to Cochin-China, for the avowed purpose of discovering
the motives of the embassy to Ava, as well as to sound the inclination
of the new king towards the Siamese. The present embassy, therefore,
might be considered as complimentary to the Siamese, while the
distinction with which it was received evidently shewed that they were
flattered by it. It would perhaps be deemed more curious than useful
or flattering, to contrast the reception which this ambassador, a
simple messenger from a comparatively small state, received, with that
which had so lately been bestowed upon the mission from the Governor
General of British India. It is sufficient to observe, that even the
Prince Chroma Chit, one of the principal members of the Government, was
known to express his regret publicly that the Cochin-Chinese ambassador
should have arrived at such a time, as the English gentlemen could not
fail to make unfavourable comparisons.
About a week after the arrival of the ambassador at Paknam, it would
appear that all the necessary preparations for conveying him to the
capital had been made ready. A numerous set of boats was appointed for
his service. In these he embarked with his train of followers, and
proceeding by easy stages up the river, treated with entertainments and
every mark of distinction and civility by the way, he arrived at Bankok.
The weather was mild and agreeable, particularly calculated to display
a procession of this nature to every advantage. The scene, too, was
interesting beyond expectation; it was both beautiful and picturesque.
The rapidity with which the boats and barges moved, the order and
regularity with which innumerable rowers raised and depressed their
paddles, guided by the shrill notes of a song that might well be
deemed barbarous, together with the singular and barbaric forms, the
brilliant colours, the gilded canopies of the boats, the strange and
gaudy attire of the men, the loud and reiterated acclamations of
innumerable spectators,--gave to the transient scene an effect not
easily described.
It was now, for the first time, that we had an opportunity of seeing
those singular and highly ornamented royal barges which had attracted
the attention of M. Chaumont and suite, ambassador to Siam from the
Court of Louis XIV. The description given of them by Loubere, in his
_Histoire de Siam_, will, with very little alteration, apply to those
now in use. They are in general from sixty to eighty feet, or more, in
length, about four in breadth, and raised about two feet in the middle
from the water, the bow and stern rising boldly to a considerable
height. They are highly-ornamented with curious and not inelegant
devices, all of which are neatly carved on the wood and gilt. The form
is that of some monstrous or imaginary animal. In the centre there is
erected a canopy, generally well gilt, and hung with silken curtains,
or cloth interwoven with gold tissue. The space under the canopy is
calculated to contain but one or two persons, the rest of the boat
being entirely occupied by the rowers, often to the number of forty or
fifty.
The procession moved in the following order:
Four long boats in front, with numerous rowers, dressed in red jackets,
and wearing tall conical caps of the same colour. These boats were
covered with a light awning of mats.
Six richly-ornamented boats, with gilded canopies, in the form of a
dome, and richly carved. In these were the assistants and suite of the
ambassador. Each boat carried two small brass swivels in front; the men
were dressed as in the former. About forty rowers were in each boat.
A very handsome, richly-ornamented barge, with a gilt canopy of a
conical shape, and rich curtains; in which was the ambassador, bearing
the letter from the King of Cochin China.
Four or six boats similar to those in front.
In the course of a few days after his arrival at Bankok, he was
admitted to an audience of the king, without going through those forms
which had been pointed out as necessary to be observed by the Agent to
the Governor General. The Cochin-Chinese ambassador neither visited the
Prince Chroma-Chit, nor his deputy the Pra-Klang, Suri-Wong, before he
had obtained an audience of the king.
His first, and public interview with the king is said to have been
friendly and somewhat familiar. No business is ever transacted on
such occasions. The king, seated under a rich canopy, received the
ambassador in the hall of audience, according to his more usual custom.
The ambassador was carried to the palace by his own followers in a
palanquin, preceded by a number of armed men. He got out of his vehicle
at the inner gate, and walking up to the hall of audience, without
laying aside his shoes, took his seat in the place allotted to him,
taking his own interpreter along with him.
Although no business was transacted, the interview lasted for a
considerable time. The hall, as on the occasion of our introduction at
court, was crowded with persons of various rank.
On the _20th_, the ambassador paid his first visit to the Pra-klang,
on which occasion we had an opportunity of seeing him and his suite,
our chambers being so situated as to afford a view of all that passed
during the interview. The Siamese choose the early part of the night
to pay their visits. The Pra-klang, on this occasion, had lighted
his rooms in the handsomest style, and had disposed of his gayest
furniture with all the taste he was master of. A new carpet and cushion
were produced for his own use, while the old one was abandoned to
his visitor, who was also to occupy the place the chief was wont to
recline on during visits, the latter retiring to a more distant part of
the room.
All the servants and retainers of the chief were summoned to attend
on this important occasion, and now lay prostrate on the floor, like
so many inanimate images, at one end of the room, in a double row. A
number of lights were placed outside, and persons bearing torches were
posted from the bank of the river to the house.
It was evident that the Pra-klang was anxious to make as great display
as possible before the stranger, and though the taste exhibited
throughout, and more particularly in the too profuse decorations of
the room, were widely different from what we are accustomed to admire,
yet it must be admitted that the effect produced was altogether
surprising, and far beyond what we could have anticipated from a
people unquestionably very rude in many of the arts of civilized life.
It deserves to be mentioned, however, that the glass manufacturer of
Europe had contributed not a little towards this display.
The ambassador seemed little inclined to abate one jot of his dignity
on this occasion. After keeping the anxious chief and his bustling
attendants in suspense for several hours, he at length appeared with
twenty or thirty attendants, and some persons bearing presents in boxes.
The ambassador was rather an elderly man, below the middle stature, of
a thin, lanky, and spare habit, with sharp eyes and sunk cheeks. He was
remarkably fair for an Asiatic. He wore on his head a piece of black
crape, loosely rolled into the form of a turban. He had on a loose
gown, with wide sleeves, of the same material and colour as his turban,
and both he and his suite were habited in black. Several chobs were
carried before him, and three black umbrellas were held over him. A few
menials were dressed in jackets of coarse red cloth and conical caps,
surmounted by a plume of red hair.
The address of the ambassador was both dignified and easy. He stood on
the threshold for an instant, surveying the room, regardless of the
chief, and advanced to the carpet in the centre of the place. He here
made a slight salutation by raising his right hand towards his face.
His interpreter and a few others seated themselves by him. Sweetmeats
were now introduced, and after the lapse of an hour or so, they parted.
On the _17th May_, the noisy ceremony called Khon-chook terminated, on
which occasion the English and Portuguese in the place, consisting of
Mr. Crawfurd and suite, Mr. de Sylveira, the Portuguese consul, and
his secretary Mr. Baptiste, Captain M’Donnell of the John Adam and
two of his mates, Captain Smith and Mr. Storm of the brig Phœnix, and
two Portuguese from Macao, were invited by the Pra-klang to a dinner
prepared in the European fashion.
I have before remarked that it is an invariable and very ancient custom
amongst the Siamese to preserve a lock of hair on the forehead of their
children, which is guarded intact until a certain period of their age,
when it is cut with great ceremony. The ceremony is called Khon-chook,
and takes place at the 11th, 13th, or 15th year of age, according to
the inclination of the parents. It is a time of great festivity and
shew. The relations and friends of the family make presents according
to the extent of their ability; the priests are frequently assembled
to say prayers; are fed and presented with new robes of yellow cloth,
that being the only colour they are permitted to wear. Different bands
of national music are assembled, and the festivities are kept up with
unceasing attention for the space of five days. On this occasion,
the eldest, and favourite son of the Pra-klang, a puny, sickly, but
intelligent boy, had attained the proper age for the performance of
this ceremony. The rank and situation of the father was such as to
command a very bountiful supply of presents. Of these we may instance
that of the Prince Chroma-chit, who is said to have given four catties
of silver, equal to 240 ticals, and that of the Agent to the Governor
General, who gave five. The tical is somewhat less than a third more
in value than a rupee.
This ceremony would appear to be more agreeable to the tenets and
practice of the Hindu than of the Bauddhic religion. The priests of the
latter took no farther interest in it than to repeat certain prayers
at particular periods, whilst the tonsure is, in fact, performed by
a Brahman, with great ceremony, and an affectation of mystery, after
he had repeated a set of unintelligible prayers. A few Brahmans are
maintained in the country for the due performance of this particular
ceremony. The Siamese entertain considerable respect for the professors
of the Hindu faith. It is not to be expected however that Brahmans so
situated, exiled from the soil which originated and cherished their
faith, would long preserve its tenets in purity. The prayers of the
priests of Buddha were repeated by several persons at once, in a sort
of recitative style, and, as usual, in the Pali or sacred text, a
language altogether unintelligible to the vulgar, and but imperfectly
understood even by the greater number of priests. The multitude listen
to these prayers with the most perfect indifference. They neither
observe decorum nor respect on such occasions, each seeming by his
conduct to imply that this was a business which touched him little,
either as regards this world or the next. Even in the temple, their
respect for the sanctity of the place, which the presence of their
idols might be supposed to command, is but little observable. Both
priests and laymen are often seen squatted on the pavement playing at
chess, and other games of chance, before the shrines of the gods.
Several of the best bands of music were assembled on this occasion,
and relieved each other in succession. One of these consisted of
female performers only; the others of male performers, whose music was
occasionally interspersed with the plaintive notes of a female voice.
The difference of the several bands consisted chiefly in the greater or
less power, or body of the music, if I may so express it; the softest
and most pleasing being that of the female band.
The Siamese are naturally very fond of music, and even persons of
rank think it no disparagement to acquire a proficiency in the art.
This music is for the most part extremely lively, and more pleasing
to the ear of an European, than the want of proficiency in the more
useful arts of civilized life would lead him to expect of such a
nation. Whence this proficiency has arisen may be somewhat difficult to
explain, more especially as the character of their music partakes but
little of that eccentricity of genius and apparent heaviness of mind
and imagination, for which they are, in other respects, so remarkable.
We have no means of ascertaining what is of domestic origin, or how
much they may be indebted to foreign intercourse for the improvement
of their music. On inquiry we were told that the principal instruments
were of Barman, Pegu, or Chinese origin, and that much of the music had
been borrowed from the two first mentioned nations, particularly from
Pegu.
It is somewhat singular that these nations again consider the Siamese
as superior in musical skill, and attribute to the latter the invention
of the principal instruments, as may be seen in Colonel Symes’s account
of those countries.
It might be supposed that the Siamese had borrowed their music from
the same source that they have their religion, the softness, the
playful sweetness and simplicity of the former seeming to harmonize in
some degree with the humane tenets, the strict morality and apparent
innocence of the latter. The prominent and leading character, however,
of the music, appears to be common to the Malays, and other inhabitants
of the Indian islands, as well as to the whole of the Indo Chinese
nations.
My friend Captain Dangerfield, himself an adept in musical science,
remarks, that the music of the Siamese differs from that of all
barbarous tribes, in being played upon a different key--on that, if I
understand him right, which characterizes the pathetic music of certain
European nations. There is certainly no harsh or disagreeable sound,
no sudden or unexpected transition, no grating sharpness in their
music. Its principal character is that of being soft, lively, sweet,
and cheerful, to a degree, which seemed to us quite surprising. They
have arrived beyond the point of being pleased with mere sound--the
musician aimed at far higher views, that of interesting the feelings,
awakening thought, or exciting the passions. Accordingly they have
their different kinds of music, to which they have recourse according
as they wish to produce one or other of these effects.
Their pieces of music are very numerous. A performer of some notoriety,
who exhibited before us, stated that he knew one hundred and fifty
tunes. This man brought with him two instruments, the one a wind,
the other a stringed instrument. The former, called klani, resembled
a flageolet, as well in form as in the tones, which however, were
fuller, softer, and louder, than those of that instrument. His manner
of blowing on it resembled that of a person using the blow-pipe. He was
thus enabled to keep up an uninterrupted series of notes.
The other, a more curious, as well as more agreeable instrument, is
called tuk-kay, from its fancied resemblance to a lizard, though in
point of form, to me it appears to approach nearer to that of a Chinese
junk. It is about three feet long, has a hollow body, and three large
sounding holes on the back, which is of a rounded form. It is composed
of pieces of hard wood, inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Three strings, one
of brass wire, the others of silk, supported on small bits of wood,
extend from one end of the instrument to the other, and are tuned by
means of long pegs. The performer pressing his left hand on the cords,
strikes them at proper distances, with the fore-finger of the right.
There is another instrument, called khong-nong[7], the music of which
is also very pleasant. It consists of a series of small cymbals of
different sizes, suspended horizontally in a bamboo frame, forming a
large segment of a circle. It is sometimes so large, that the performer
may sit within the circle of the instrument, his back being then turned
to the vacant space.
The tones of this instrument are very pleasing. It is usually
accompanied by the instrument called ran-nan; this is formed of flat
bars of wood, about a foot in length, and an inch in breadth, placed
by the side of each other, and disposed so as to form an arch, the
convexity of which is downwards. Both this and the last-mentioned
instrument are struck with a light piece of wood, or a small mallet.
The task were more tedious than useful or entertaining to enumerate all
the musical instruments used by the Siamese. They have herein displayed
much ingenuity, and no inconsiderable proficiency, combining various
instruments so as to produce a very pleasing effect. In conclusion, we
may observe, that there is a very remarkable difference between the
character of their vocal and instrumental music, the former being as
plaintive and melancholy, as the latter is lively and playful.
_20th May, 1822._--Though but little of an agreeable or satisfactory
nature has occurred respecting the commercial or political objects of
the mission since our arrival, it seems proper that we should here
take a brief and cursory view of these transactions. As the subject
was unavoidably rendered one of public notoriety, and often became
matter of conversation between Captain Dangerfield and the Agent to
the Governor General, occasionally even at the table of the latter, it
became no very difficult matter to gain some insight into the affair; I
mean that persons who, like myself, were unconnected with political and
commercial matters, could thus become in some degree acquainted with
what was going forward: the more so, as the Portuguese of the place,
and the captains and officers of the two English ships in the river
were favourably situated for acquiring the fullest information on the
subject. From these sources my information has been principally drawn.
FOOTNOTES:
[6] According to Loubere, Pra-Klang is the same title as Barkalan.
[7] See RAFFLES’ _Java_, Vol. 1. 470.