“Art. 6. If any of the people who are now free, having had no trouble necessitating their becoming slaves, should subsequently become involved, and the father, mother, the paternal grandfather, grandmother, the maternal grandfather, grandmother, uncles, aunts, elder brothers or sisters, be inclined to sell their children or relatives that were born in the year of the Major Dragon, tenth of the decade (A.D. 1868), (as the starting-point)—if less than fifteen years old, they may do so only temporarily (until they reach their twenty-first year)—and allow their services to the purchaser in lieu of interest, inserting their names in the bill of sale of the purchaser, with or without the knowledge of the person sold, the sale is valid according to the laws of the land, because the father, mother, and elder relatives are paramount, &c.
“Art. 7. If a child or a relative that has been born since the year of the Major Dragon, tenth of the decade (A.D. 1868), has attained any age between the fifteenth and twentieth year—that is, knows the difference between right and wrong—and the parents or elder relatives wish to sell and give their services to the purchaser in lieu of interest, and the seller places that person’s name in a bill of sale, the party so doing must inform the person to be sold, that he may know and see the transaction, and attach his name to the instrument in confirmation thereof, to give it validity, and make it available to the purchaser: his valuation, however, shall be according to the rates of the present laws. If the person sold neither knows of nor saw the transaction, and has not appended, nor hired, nor asked others to write his name to the instrument, he cannot be regarded as a slave.
“Art. 8. If the child of a slave or of a free person born in the year of the Major Dragon, as the starting-point, has reached the twenty-first year of his or her age, should the parents or the relatives or the persons themselves become embarrassed and involved, and apply to sell such persons, offering their personal services in lieu of interest on the purchase-money, all moneyed people and property holders are hereby absolutely forbidden to purchase them as slaves, &c.
“Art. 11. All persons under obligation to the Government known as Prai-luangs,[[9]] soldiers, artisans, labourers, miners, provincials, attamahts; those whose freedom has been forfeited to the State for crimes against the laws,[[10]] royal domestics, labourers at the Government rice-mills, Government weavers, silk manufacturers, female guards of the inner apartments of the palace, and the distributors and objects of royal charities; all people under obligation to the Government, and known as Kon-hluangs, who clandestinely and fraudulently allow their names to be entered into bills of sale, pledging their personal services in lieu of interest to the purchaser, if they have children born to them in the house of the money-master from and since the year of the Major Dragon, tenth of the decade, and those children have attained the twenty-first year of their age,—in all these cases let the money-master make known the circumstances to the Krom Pra Surasadee, that the real Government master may have him tattooed and designated to his proper group, the group to which his father and mother belonged, so that when off required (Government) duty he may serve his money-master, and when on required duty he may serve his Government master, according to the original laws.”
As the majority of the non-Chinese inhabitants of Siam are included among the above-mentioned classes, and there is no penalty for their selling themselves and their children clandestinely and fraudulently as slaves; and as the money-masters are told that they can keep them as slaves, and the original laws will apply to them and their children so long as they are permitted by their money-masters to serve the Government for three months in the year as Government slaves,—the law affords no protection to these people, and was evidently not meant to be a protection to them. The law was, in fact, merely enacted and published by the king in order to throw dust into the eyes of foreign nations, so that they might imagine him to be an enlightened and civilised monarch. I was only lately assured by gentlemen residing in Bangkok that slavery was never more prevalent in Siam than it is at the present time.
Instead of improving the position of the majority of the people, the law of 1874 makes it considerably worse; for the former law of A.D. 1787 states—“It is well known that registered slaves are exempt from monthly service to the Government. Government can demand their services only when there is war.” For the future, the Government will be able to demand their services for three months in the year, during which time they will have to provide their own lodging and food, and during the remaining nine months they will have to serve their money-masters, and their children will have to bear the same burdens and servitude.
The usual method employed by money-masters in Siam wishing to retain bond-slaves who wish to pay off their debts and regain their freedom, is fully explained by a proclamation that was issued by the late king in 1867, which runs as follows:—
“Proclamation of his Majesty Somdetch Pra Shaum Klow, the 4th of the present Dynasty. About the Merchant Bahng Mew.
“His Majesty issued a royal mandate to be proclaimed and published to all the princes and Government officials without and within, and to the people of the capital and of the provinces, north and south, for general information, about the merchant Bahng Mew, whose official title is Kun Penit Wohahn.
“He is truly a rich man, but he is tortuous. He is tricky in words and in litigation. His Majesty has really detected his artifice, his tortuousness, and lack of honesty. He has no compassion on the common people, who are his debtors and slaves, who are desirous of paying their indebtedness and the moneys advanced in purchasing them.