A CURIOUS MARK OF ROYAL GRATITUDE
The episode of the plague had rather a curious conclusion. When the pestilence had spent its force, King Phra Chao Pravat Thong decided that he would perform an “act of merit” in honour of Buddha for the cessation of the epidemic. Since the religion of Buddha requires great veneration for the life of animals one of the surest means to merit is to grant freedom to animals that are in captivity. Accordingly a levy was made upon every citizen to bring to the palace ground a stated number of animals or birds during a fixed period, and upon a given day these were all to be liberated at the king’s command. To the surprise of the foreigners residing in Bangkok, they in common with the citizens received a demand for a gift of pigs and fowls and ducks in varying numbers and assortments.
The members of the Presbyterian Mission, assuming that this liberating of the animals was a religious rite, declined to make the requested present upon the ground that they could not “consent in any way to have anything to do with the system of idolatry in the land”; but, to avoid the appearance of offense, added that if the gift were a mere matter of custom, they would offer the required present as a compliment to the king. On the following day they received word from the Pra Nai Wai, who had charge of the levy, that the desired present had nothing to do with the religion of the country but was merely intended as a token of congratulation to the king on the occasion of the abatement of the pestilence. In view of this explanation, Dr. House and Mr. Mattoon reconsidered their decision; and accordingly the required donation was sent, accompanied by a letter of congratulation with an expression of thanks to God and of a Christian prayer for His Majesty’s welfare.
For three days the river was alive with craft bringing the gifts to the landing at the king’s palace, where the donor was credited. Then the gifts were taken to the depot where the aggregation was being fed by proper officers till the day of liberation arrived. It was estimated that more than two hundred pails of rice were necessary each day for feed. Then on the great day a river procession took place, a gala affair such as the Siamese frequently held on festal occasions:
“The river at one time this morning, as far as eye could see around the bend and to the palace, had a procession of boats with banners, white and red, with music and beating of cymbals, with cages of all colours and sizes and shapes—some one, two or four stories high, some like beautiful pagodas, some shaped like vases; some with flowers, some with banners representing by picture the animals or birds contained in the cages.”
All proceeded to the river landing at the palace, where the captives were set free. It was estimated officially that nearly one hundred thousand fowls and ducks, some five hundred pigs and numerous boat-loads of live fish were included in the donations and were set free.
The incident, however, did not end here. A like request had gone to the French priests and the members of their parishes. At first the Bishop gave permission for the making of the present to the king; but later when it was rumoured that the king would liberate the captives to “gain merit,” the bishop not only declined himself to make the gift but withdrew his permission previously granted to his people. This reversal caused great indignation among the officials responsible for gathering the presents. After a conference in which the bishop was informed, as the other foreigners had been, that the gift was not regarded as a participation in a religious rite but only as a customary token of congratulation, the bishop returned to his original attitude, restored permission to his people and offered a gift in his own behalf.
But thereupon a new turn in the affair developed; the eight French priests conferred together and concluded that the explanation was only a subterfuge, the real object of the gift being an act of worship; and they decided not to participate for themselves, notwithstanding the bishop’s permission. This course had the disadvantage of placing them in the position of disrespect to the government, since their superior had approved of the participation. Accordingly the eight priests were admonished by the government that if they refused to acquiesce in the royal request they must leave the country. Remaining inexorable, the order was given for their banishment, but the bishop was permitted to remain because he had complied with the request. This decree remained in force until revoked by King Mongkut in 1851.
Some months later the foreign residents of Bangkok were surprised to read in an English paper of Singapore a statement that the deported priests, on their passage through Singapore, had given;—a version of the affair in which they appeared as heroes who had chosen expulsion rather than participation in pagan rites while the Protestant missionaries had purchased exemption by acquiescence. Unfortunately this interpretation of the incident to the glory of the eight priests placed their own bishop in an unfavourable light.