This Prince is wealthy for the reason that many of his neighbours pay a high price for his protection. He derives a considerable revenue from the elephants, wax, and ivory produced in his country; the tribute paid in scented woods and gold dust by his vassals forms another source of income. Besides the tribute exacted from the vassal states, there is a general poll-tax, and every man from the age of 18 to 60 has to pay about fifteen livres. This tax is less derogatory than the forced labour of eight months to which every slave or subject is liable. The grandees are obliged to offer valuable gifts on certain days of the year to the King, and these would exhaust their resources if it were not for the gifts which they in return extort from their inferiors to replace the losses caused by these forced benevolences.
At the death of each land-owner, the King takes possession of the landed property and leaves only the money and personal effects of the deceased to the heirs. The tariff dues on foreign merchandise are still another source of revenue.
The Government of the Kingdom of Cochin-China is purely military. The weapons of the country are muskets, bows and daggers. Drill is performed in silence. The leader directs all the evolutions by motions of his baton, and if he makes a mistake he is reduced to the ranks. The Court is an example of Asiatic pomp. The first dignities of the state are conferred on eunuchs, as it is supposed that as they are unable to beget children, they will be all the less avaricious.
This policy has not succeeded in Europe, where experience has shown that celibate ministers have accumulated vast wealth. The heir-presumptive to the throne has command of the navy, and of his private body guard of 5,000 men. The younger son is commander-in-chief of the army. He has also a body guard of 2,000 men. A standing army is maintained as a protection against rebellions.
Crimes against the King's person are cruelly punished. The guilty party is tied up to a post and each soldier cuts off a piece of his flesh until nothing but the skeleton remains. The severity of the code in force proves that the nation is prone to crime. The law endeavours to deter crime by the threats of severe punishment. The soldiers are clad in satin and the uniforms of the officers are of velvet and silver.
There are military schools in which children are trained at the public expense. The spirit of emulation is fostered by rewards which pander to the growing mind. They receive silk dresses and other accoutrements that flatter their vanity. Those who take no advantage from their lessons are dressed in linen.
Christianity has made great progress in this land, but has had much to fight against. The ignorance of the idolatrous priests, and the foolish nature of their doctrines, have been favourable to the progress of Missionary enterprise.
CHAPTER XIII.
TONKIN.
The intercourse between Siam and Tonkin requires special notice. The exact extent of Tonkin is not known accurately, but all travellers agree that it is a more densely populated country than France, and some imagine that it is of equal extent.