The Kingdom of the Yellow Robe / Being Sketches of the Domestic and Religious Rites and Ceremonies of the Siamese

by Ernest Young

Now the new body of councillors has been specially requested to introduce and discuss new laws and regulations, and it has been further empowered to put into operation any law that it may pass, without the authority of the king, provided he is not at the time sufficiently well in health to attend to business. He, however, reserves to himself the right to amend the law should he afterwards think fit. Those who know anything of the present king will recognise the wisdom of this arrangement, for he can always be depended upon not to destroy but to stimulate everything which makes for the happiness of his people.

Each province has at its head a Royal Commissioner who has extensive powers, but who holds office at the pleasure of the king, though in the first instance his appointment is generally for some definite period. The Commissioners are not simply responsible for the good government, or for the collection of the taxes in the district under their charge, but they are intended to form connecting links between the central and the outlying portions of the kingdom. For in faraway provinces, powerful and enterprising chiefs occasionally find it convenient to forget the fact that they are not independent monarchs. The appointment of Royal Commissioners was very much resented by some of the chiefs, especially by those who had previously reigned with the title and dignity of sovereigns. Amongst these was the "King of Luang Prabang," who had for many years governed the province of Luang Prabang under the above title. It has been stated that this man is the only man in the country, except the king, who can boast a purely Siamese descent. Everyone else has some foreign blood in his veins. At any rate, this so-called king belonged to one of the oldest families in the land. When the new Commissioners were appointed, a very young man was sent to take over the government of this province. On nearing the scene of his new labours, he sent word to the old chief to tell him of his arrival, and to demand a formal and elaborate reception to be made for him, as a mark of respect to the sovereign whose orders he had come to execute. The old man went himself to meet the new arrival, indulging in a good deal of grumbling by the way, and wondering why there was any necessity to make such a fuss. When he found to what extent he was to be superseded in the government of his ancient domain, his grief and anger knew no bounds, but as he was powerless to resent he had to content himself with grumbling and moaning. He rather pertinently asked why the young king had sent a young man to control an old chief who had so long done his duty faithfully and well. One day the Commissioner heard the deposed governor addressed by the people, with the title of "king." He at once forbade the repetition of the word, saying, "There is but one king in Siam." The old man smarted not a little under what he considered was a new insult, but he restrained any outward expression of his feelings. Not long after this occurrence the Commissioner found that the chief had in his possession a state umbrella with the number of tiers used by royalty. He ordered two of these to be at once removed, and his order was obeyed. The insulted chief got his revenge at last, when the French took the province of Luang Prabang. M. Pavie, the French Commissioner, and formerly French Minister in Bangkok, sent the Siamese representative about his business, and invited the old chief to an interview. When the chief arrived, M. Pavie asked him if there was anything he wanted either for himself or his people. The old man related his loss of dignity and title, and begged that he might be allowed to repair his umbrella, and call himself "king" once more. "Certainly," said M. Pavie, with diplomatic condescension, "call yourself 'king' if you like, and as to the umbrella, add two tiers or twenty, just as you please." The remade king was delighted, and returned home exceedingly glad at heart at the complete restoration of his royal name and furniture. The majority of the Commissioners, as well as the chief members of the Cabinet and of the Legislative Council are relatives of the king.

Siam possesses an excellent code of laws. They are, in the main, just and well suited to the people for whom they were intended. There are faulty laws amongst them, and there are a few that are barbarous or cruel, but these, be it said to the credit of the present government, are never enforced. The faults of Siam's legislative system do not lie in the laws themselves, but in the administration of them. Bribery has been the curse of every court throughout the country. Bribed judges and perjured witnesses have hindered the operations of laws that would have been powerful for good, and have converted what should have been halls of justice into houses of oppression. The venial judge could be publicly flogged, but when the other judges and the witnesses were all also venial, no righteous accuser could be found. The system has existed for so many years that the people have got accustomed to it, and look upon bribery as a necessary and natural part of any legal proceedings. The prolongation of the different lawsuits meant more and more profit to the judge, and so adjournments were indulged in ad infinitum. In this way thousands of cases have accumulated; and up to a few months ago the condition of affairs was so bad that the most just of judges might have been forgiven for preferring to leave alone the legal dust and uncleanliness accumulated by his predecessors. One of the most beneficial results that has followed the appointment of the Legislative Council, has been an enquiry into the character and causes of the defective administration of justice. A party of Belgian lawyers, assisted by a few Siamese lawyers trained for their profession in foreign countries, set to work to overhaul the courts and cases. They cleared off the legal arrears at the rate of scores each week. They found men who had been lying in gaol for years, without trial, for some trivial offence. In many instances the plaintiff who had originally entered the case was dead, or could not be found. These unfortunate sufferers they released at once. They discovered numerous examples of cruel or excessive sentences, which they reduced or annulled. To prevent further accumulations they assisted the native judges in trying all new cases as they came up day by day, giving them in this way, many a valuable object lesson in the administration of justice, though not without occasional hindrances from the judges, and even from the litigants themselves. One day an old woman went to one of the new foreign judges, crouched at his feet, and sobbed out a bitter tale of cruel wrong. She was engaged in some trivial lawsuit with a relative, and she alleged that she could not get her rights because the judge was receiving bribes. "My cousin," said she, "sends the judge presents of flowers and fruit, and I know what is hidden in the basket." She dwelt on the enormity of the offence and the suffering she endured thereby, and the foreigner listened with great interest. At last he remarked, "Well, what do you want me to do for you?" The woman, her eyes bright with hope, answered him, "Next week the case is coming before you, and if you will only pronounce a verdict in my favour, I too will make you a present of fruit and flowers."

The laws of the country do not admit of being catalogued or described in any brief manner, as they occupy seventy volumes of closely printed Siamese, a mass of legal literature which it is obviously impossible to condense for the purposes of this chapter.

There are two courts for the trial of criminal cases, and a number of minor courts for the trial of civil cases in Bangkok. There is also an International Court where the subjects of different nations attempt to settle their differences with the natives. As far as Englishmen are concerned, this court is practically useless; for owing to the lackadaisical manner in which the affairs of Englishmen are dealt with by the members of the British consulate, the native judges know full well that they can always give their own countrymen every possible benefit of the slightest doubt. A remark once made by a Siamese to an English resident is only too true—"What good are your Consuls and Ministers to you? If I bring a case against you in your court, I shall win it, and if you bring a case against me in my court, I am equally certain you will lose it."

There are provincial courts for dealing with minor offences in the outlying districts, but the judges in these courts have no power to sentence a man to death unless such power is directly given them by the king himself.

The course of procedure in any court is simple but slow. The plaintiff presents his case in writing. This is neatly copied by the clerks, and then read to the complainant in order to see that no inaccuracy occurs. If he signifies that the document so read, is a faithful reproduction of the original, it is folded up and fastened with a bit of wax or soft mud, on which he impresses his private seal, that is, the mark of his thumb-nail. A synopsis of the plaint is sent to the defendant, who makes his answer in writing, which is similarly copied and sealed. A day for hearing the case is appointed, but the litigants are called together before the day of trial, with a view to settling the matter privately. If these efforts at conciliation prove unfruitful, the depositions are read before subordinate judges, who, after considering the case, make their award in writing. Their written judgment is forwarded to the chief judge and he pronounces the sentence. The chief judge has full powers, but an appeal to the king is allowable. This privilege is more or less a dead letter, as it would be practically impossible for a poor man to get his appeal brought before the notice of his sovereign.

Very few of the courts have a legal aspect. The judge reclines at one end of the room, on a mat placed on the floor. Under his arm is a three-cornered pillow. He smokes, drinks tea, chews betel-nut, and spits during the whole course of the trial, and his example is followed by the policemen, witnesses, lawyers and spectators.

A long and terrible oath is administered to each witness. It runs as follows: "I, ——, who have been brought here as an evidence in this matter, do now in presence of the divine Buddha declare that I am wholly unprejudiced against either party, and uninfluenced in any way by the opinions or advice of others, and that no prospects of pecuniary advantages or of advancement to office have been held out to me. I also declare that I have not received any bribes on this occasion. If what I have now spoken be false, or if in my further averments I should colour or pervert the truth so as to lead the judgment of others astray, may the three holy existences before whom I now stand, together with the glorious Devattas of the twenty-two firmaments, punish me.