Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1913.djvu/1370

 1248

SIAM

justice in the native cuurts and in the International Court which tries suits of foreigners against Siamese. The Penal Code has been completed, and came into force on September 21, 1908 ; work on other codes is bein^ proceeded with. The Consular Courts exercise jurisdiction over their nationals, subject, in the case of Great Britain and France, to the Treaty modifications. A gi^eat improvement has taken place in the metropolitan ^ police force under the superintendence of several English police officers lent | by the Government of India. The police administration of the Provinces is | entrusted to the Provincial Gendarmerie, a force which includes a Danish inspector-general and a body of Danish instructors.

Religion and Instruction.

The prevailing religion is Buddhism, and throughout the country education is chiefly in the hands of the priests, of whose services the Government intend to make more effective use. In the whole country there are some 13,000 temples, containing over 93,000 priests, Avith a total of over 157,000 pupils. The Siamese language is now firmly established as the official lano-uage over the whole country. The Minister of Public Instruction and Ecclesiastical Affairs has also under his charge several Government hos- pitals, which have been established by the King, besides a public museum, and all the royal monasteries in the capital.

The capital possesses the following Government schools : 138 lower and. middle primary schools, with 10,083 pupils ; 4 upper primary schools with 420 pupils ; 2 secondary schools, with 184 pupils ; 6 English schools, with 549 pupils; 1 medical college, with 108 pupils; 1 training college for teachers, with 68 pupils ; 1 Civil Service college, with 70 pupils ,^and 1 midwifery school, with 32 pupils. Schools not under the Education Depart- ment are military, naval, and survey residential colleges, and Law, Gendar- merie, and Police non-residential schools. Sericulture and raihvay schools have been formed, and the establishment of a University at Bangkok (with 8 faculties -.—medicine, law, engineering, agriculture, commerce, pedagogy, and political science) is in x^iogress.

Finance.

Revenue and Expenditure for the years 1909-10, 1910-11, 1911-12 :-

Revenue

Expenditure again st Revenue Extraordinary Expenditure against Capital Account" ...

1910-11.

&

4,625,951 4,625,911

710,333

1911-12 (E.stiniate)

&

4,763,261 4,756,805

892,352

1912-13 (Estimate)

£

4.738,462 4,737,069

1,221,589


 * Including Expenditure from Loans.

The principal sources of revenue for 1911-12 were : customs duties, 461,838/. ; other taxes 2^6.3 687L: state lands and forests, 283,171/.; railways, 329,615/ ; post, telegraphs, | and telephones, 88,300/.; other sources (including revenue from lottery and gambling,, farms, &c., 867,235/.

In March, 1905, a loan of 1,000,000Z. was contracted, and in February 1907 a loan of 3,000,000Z. The proceeds are being devoted mainly to railway construction. In 1909 a further loan of 4,000, OOOZ., bearing interest at 4 per cent, was negotiated, the money to be gradually advanced to tlie i Siamese Government by the Government of the Federated Malay States. It 1