Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/1330

1278 lines go to Singora, Nakorn Sritamarat and Trang (on the West Coast of the Peninsula), respectively. Connection has now been made with the Federated Malay States railways, and since July 1, 1918, it has been possible to travel from Bangkok to Penang, and thence to Singapore by train. The two lines have been amalgamated under one management. Private lines include those (worked by companies) from Bangkok to Paknam at the mouth of the Menam, and from Bangkok to Tachin and Meklong on the coast to the west of the Menam, together with a tramway connecting the Northern Line (northern branch) with Phrabat.

In 1919 there were 107 post offices and agencies, of which 31 were admitted for inland and 4 for the foreign money order service. The inland mail matter received at the different offices for delivery consisted of (1917–18) 892,740 letters, 372,918 post cards, 1,153,932 pieces of printed matter. For foreign countries the returns of mails despatched were: letters, 326,699, post cards, 36,400, printed matter, 78,936 pieces; foreign letters received 577,705, post cards 61,906; printed matter 409,427, other matter 40,157.

There were (1919) 73 telegraph offices. Number of inland telegrams 113,659, of foreign telegrams, 108,032. Length of line, 4,532 miles; length of wire, 6,353 miles.

There were (1919) two telephone exchanges, and 958 instruments were installed at the premises of subscribers. A complete set of new instruments from Sweden for the telephone exchange in Bangkok were installed in 1919.

Two wireless stations on the Telefunken system have been erected, one at Bangkok and one at Senggora. They are both under the control of the Siamese naval authorities.

Money, Weights, and Measures.

In Bangkok there are branches of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, the Chartered Bank of India, the Mercantile Bank of India and the Banque de l'Indo-Chine. There is also a branch of the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China at Puket. A Siamese bank, formerly with a German but now with a British manager for its Foreign Department, has recently been established under Royal Charter and with the name of the Commercial Bank of Siam, Limited. The Government in 1902 began to issue currency notes (5, 10, 20, 100 and 1,000 ticals, and since October 1918, 1 tical and 50 tical notes). At the end of 1903 there was 267,623 £. worth of currency notes in circulation; on March 31, 1920, 8,353,592 £. The currency notes are inconvertible.

In 1914 the Siamese Treasury Savings Bank was opened with 634 depositors. By March 31, 1919, the number was 4,905, with a total deposit of 107,365 £.

The unit of the monetary system is the silver tical (officially called baht), weighing 15 grams .900 fine. Its value (formerly varying with the price of silver) has, by the Gold Standard Act of 1908, been fixed at 1 s. $6 1/2$ d. or 13 ticals = 1 £., the gold value of the tical being equal to that of 55.8 centigrams of pure gold. There will be a 10 tical gold piece or Dos weighing 6.2 grams .900 fine and thus containing 5.58 grams of pure gold. By an amendment to the gold standard of 1908, dated Sept. 4, 1919, the value of the tical has been fixed at 1 s. 8 d. or 12 ticals = 1 £. sterling, the gold value of the tical being equal to that of 61 centigrammes of pure gold. In addition to the tical, the following coins are now actually in use:—(silver) the salung = $1/4$-tical; the 2-salung piece = $1/2$ tical; (nickel) the 10-Satang piece, = $10/100$ of a tical; the 5-Satang piece, = $5/100$ of a tical; and (bronze) the Satang, = $1/100$ of a tical. The Salung is of silver .800 fine. New 2-salung pieces have recently been coined and issued, of silver .650 fine.

There are no standard weights and measures in Siam. But the metric