The great natural and economical centre of Siam is the delta of the Me-nam river, which is annually flooded between June and November, the waters attaining their greatest height in August. The inundation covers several thousand square miles, so that the capacity for production of rice, which furnishes two-thirds of the entire exports, is almost unlimited, but is very partially developed both from scarcity of population and want of means of transport, mills, and better cultivation. Irrigation channels are, however, cut above the point where the creeks naturally cease by some of the small Chinese settlers. The bar formed at the mouth of this and of the other converging rivers—the Tachim, the Me-klong, and the Pechaburi on the west, and the Kharayok on the east—extends right across the upper end of the gulf, and has 12 or 13 feet of water at high water. The yearly encroachment of the land on the sea is considerable, and the entire delta from Chein-nat in 15° 20' N. lat. downwards has probably been formed in comparatively recent times. At Bangkok sea-shells are found 20 feet below the surface. The Tachim, the first great branch of the Me-nam, joins its right bank above Chein-nat; below this the main stream anastomoses naturally or by canals freely, the banks of the different channels being densely peopled. Above Chein-nat the Me-nam continues deep and navigable up to the junction of the Pak-nam Pho, its east branch being formed by several important affluents from the north-east. The west branch of the Me-nam is formed mainly by two affluents, the Me-wang and the Me-ping, which flow down through the west Laos states, some of whose chief towns are situated on their banks. In this more elevated region the hill ranges, with a general north-south direction, ramify widely, rising in places to from 6000 to 8000 feet, while the valleys between them widen out into great fertile plains, having the appearance of former lake-basins—a view which coincides with ancient local traditions. On the west frontier the rapid and broken stream of the Toon-gyeen, whose tributary valleys on the Siamese side produce valuable teak and cinnamon, flows from a mass of laterite, south of which the central range consists of granite, with syenite and quartzose rocks. Its spurs (6000 feet high) extending in every direction, of sandstones, Carboniferous limestones, and other Secondary formations, are clothed with sappan and other forest trees, and contain probably gold, besides argentiferous lead, tin, coal, and iron, the latter in nodules of clay oxide and brown haematite. On the west of the Gulf of Siam, as far south as 11° N. lat., is a dry barren region, enclosed between' two ranges which intercept the rainfall on either side, but farther south are luxuriant damp forests containing Hopea (wood-oil), iron-wood, <kc., with occasional clearings for cultivation, and many rivers with wide mouths, but becoming mere streams higher up.

In about 10° 30' N. lat. the Malay peninsula is narrowed by a river at either side to a width of only 27 miles, and there a survey for a canal has been made; the maximum height of the section is 250 feet, the mean 130; the amount of excavation is estimated at 84 million cubic feet, mostly through hard rock, and the cost at £20,000,000. But the approaches by the river-mouths on both sides are intricate and bad. This has latterly been the chief route across the peninsula; but there are other breaks in the range which forms the backbone of the peninsula, and the Buddhist propaganda is said to have crossed by the isthmus of Ligor. Here, however— perhaps, properly speaking, in Junk Ceylon Island—is the real termination of the great range which comes down unbroken from Yun-nan, separating the Salwín and the Me-nam valleys.

East from the plain of the Me-nam, and separating it from the Me-kong valley, a plateau rises with very gradual ascent, clothed to a width of from 30 to 50 miles with forest. From its east side several large and partly navigable rivers flow towards the Me-kong through a sandy and for the most part arid plain, with stunted growth of resinous trees and bamboos, brushwood and grass; but on the lower courses of some of these streams are rich irrigated tracts, producing rice, bananas, sugar, maize, and the usual tropical vegetables. The whole region is very unhealthy, especially in the wet season. Travelling would hardly be possible without elephants, of which some are kept in every village. The rocks are mostly calcareous or sandstone, and at the south edge of the plateau corals and recent shells at a slight depth show the former limits of the land. Farther north the mountains of Pechaboun and Lorn are rich in magnetic iron ore, argentiferous copper, antimony, and tin. Only the first-named is worked to any extent; and, though by very primitive methods, a large quantity of tools and weapons are manufactured. From the south of the plateau a range sweeps round to the south-east into Cambodia, outliers from which are the two peaks north and east from Chanta-boun, the latter noted for its emeralds, topazes, and sapphires. Isolated hills, apparently volcanic, occur, as the sacred Mount Phrabat, to the north-east of Ayuthia, where there are hot springs and a famous footprint of the Buddha, and the conical hills at Pechaburi in the southwest, consisting of lavas, scoriøe, and trachytic rocks, abounding in caverns elaborately fitted as temples.

Tin is extensively distributed, especially throughout the Malay peninsula, where it is worked at Bang-ta-phang in the province of Chumphon, at Chaija and Chaliang, also on the Me-klong, at Kan-buri, and at Rapri. Gold is found pretty extensively in Tringanu and Pahang; there are mines at Bang-ta-phang; and it is extracted in the Me-kong valley by washing or with mercury. Most of it is consumed in trinkets and presents given by the king,—gold leaf being imported from China for gilding pagodas, &c. Iron abounds in the east, as at Loin and Mulu Prey, antimony at Rapri, lead at Pak-phrek and Suphan, silver in the Me-pik valley. Both the lead and copper ores are often argentiferous.

Much of the natural rainfall in Siam is intercepted by the high lands of the Malacca peninsula and by the mountains on the northwest and north, while the proximity of the Gulf of Siam tempers the heat. The rainfall at Bangkok on an average of ten years is 67·04 inches, of which 50·59 inches fall from May to October inclusive. The mean annual temperature is 80°·1, varying from 74°·8 in December to 83°·4 in April; the lowest recorded absolute minimum was 57° in December 1866, the highest recorded absolute maximum 97°·5 in May 1867. The north-east monsoon begins to blow early in November, preceded by a month of variable weather. It has lost half its force in January, and by March strong south and south-south-west winds have set in, the south-west monsoon blowing then steadily and strongly till September. Thus there are three seasons of four months each, —the hot, rainy, and cold.

As to general features, the fauna of Siam is identical with that of Burmah and of southern China, and is one of the richest in the. world. Elephants are very numerous in the south and east, but are not found so far north as in India. They are as intelligent as the Indian, but usually less highly trained. White (albino) monkeys are sacred, as are the elephant, an iguana which lives in the house and kills rats and other vermin, and the crow; white ants’ nests are respected as resembling pagodas, so that libraries arc often kept in tanks to escape the ants’ ravages.

The flora is very similar in character to that of Burmah and has much in common with the Chinese, the transition to which is almost insensible. The coast region is characterized by mangroves, pandanus, rattans, and similar palms with long flexible stems, and the middle region by the great rice-fields, the cocoa-nut and areca palms, and the usual tropical plants of culture. In the temperate uplands of the interior, as about Luang Prabang, Himalayan and Japanese species occur,—oaks, pines, chestnuts, peach and great apple trees, raspberries, honeysuckle, vines, saxifrages, Cichoraceae, anemones, and Violaceae ; there are many valuable timber trees,—teak, sappan, eagle-wood, wood-oil (Hopea), and other Biptcrocarpaccae, Cedrelaceae, Pterocarpaccae, Xylia, iron-wood, and other dye-woods and resinous trees, these last forming in many districts a large proportion of the more open forests, with an undergrowth of bamboo.

Numerous caravans of cattle, horses, mules, and porters pass annually from Yun-nan (south-west China) to the northern (Siamese) Shan states, whence many of them proceed via Chieng-mai to Moulmain (Maulmain). They bring from China silk goods, tea, opium, and brass wares, and take back raw cotton, deer and rhinoceros horns, ivory, and saltpetre. The northern states, which are a great breeding-ground for cattle and ponies—elephants too are exported into Burmah—send down teak and other produce. The proposed railway from Moulmain via Myawaddi to Raheng, and thence to Kiang-sen, 190 miles from the Chinese frontier, is intended to stimulate not only the traffic with China but the local resources (see address by Mr Holt Hallett, C.E., in London Chamber of Commerce Journal, 5th May 1885). The eastern states, comprising nearly half the area and a considerable part of the wealth of the kingdom, send much produce via Korat to Bangkok. They produce chiefly China grass (Boehmeria nivea), sugar, indigo, silk, cardamoms, cotton, tobacco, sisiet (a substitute for betel), beeswax, benzoin, lac, iron, lime, sulphur, salt, coarse pottery, mats, hides, tigers, and bones, horns, and tusks of elephants, rhinoceroses, and boars. European cottons and hardware and Chinese goods penetrate everywhere, the chief entrepôts being Nangkoi in the east and Chieng-mai in the west. The eastern plains produce alternate crops of rice and salt. The rains dissolve the salt in the soil and wash it down, making cultivation possible. In the dry season the salt comes up again and is swept up from the surface. Much alcohol is distilled and consumed. Vast quantities (6900 to 7900 tons) of dried fish are prepared at Lake Tonle-sap, and at fisheries on the coast. Although silk has been known from remote antiquity, it is produced exclusively by the Lao communities settled throughout the country,—the chief centres being Korat and Battampong. The export in 1884 was 325 cwts., valued at £19,890; but the best quality hardly reaches the Bangkok market, its natural bright yellow colour making it difficult to dye. There is, however, not much of it, the demand for the better kinds being supplied from Cambodia. But for the apathy and indolence of the people the production might be largely increased; the spinning and reeling apparatus too are very primitive, though some beautiful cloths are woven at Chieng-mai. Much of the trade in teak and cattle is worked by Burmese; otherwise almost all the trade of the country is in Chinese hands. In some of the remoter districts barter is resorted to, beeswax, salt, lac, and bars of iron being mediums of exchange; but generally silver is used, and sometimes Indian rupees. Civilization increases in the eastern districts as the frontier of China is approached. In 1884 419 vessels cleared from Bangkok with cargoes valued at £27,170; of these 240 (tonnage, 151,984) were British. In addition, there were 143 junks (tonnage, 3350). The total value of the exports was £2,262,240, rice being the principal item, £1,444,200. The imports were valued at £1,044,255, the chief items being—grey and white shirtings, £161,997; opium (704 chests), £81,410; chowls, i.e., shawls, a cotton cloth from Bombay, £105,264. In 1885 the exports were valued at £1,907,006 and the imports at £1,380,233. The exports being in excess of the imports, the difference is paid in Mexican dollars, which are melted down and re-coined,—the silver coinage being the standard of weight.

The money and weights seem to be the same as the Old Cambodian. A copper coinage has replaced the cowries, and there is also a silver coinage, viz., the fuang = 7 ½ cents, the salung= 15 cents, the bat or tikal = 60 cents or half a crown, 5 tikals=3 Mexican dollars. From the tikal upwards these coins are also used as measures of weight. Thus 1 tikal weighs 15 grammes or 231 grains, 4 tikals=l tamlung, 20 tamlungs=l chang or catty, or two Chinese catties, = 3·2 lb. There are a few gold coins, but not in general circulation. Their value is sixteen times their weight in silver.

The land-tax is fixed at ten per cent., the first person who clears land being entitled to hold it. The tax on garden produce and on fruit trees is higher, but is fixed at intervals of some fifteen years, or at the beginning of a reign. There is a corvée of four months in the year, to which all classes except the nobles and the priesthood are theoretically liable, but it may be commuted for a poll-tax of from 6 to 18 tikals, payable either directly in money to Government or to the feudal superior, for all except the nobility are thus dependent on a superior; in the provinces it is payable in kind through the governor. A smaller amount, 1 1/2 tikals, is payable by masters for their slaves. But there are some considerate exceptions, viz., persons over sixty or under eighteen years of age, or who have three sons paying the tax, and cases of incurable illness. If a special demand for labour be made there is exemption from poll-tax for that year. The Chinese only pay 4 1/4 tikals triennially, and Europeans are exempted. There is a tax on houses, on amusements (theatricals, dancers, &c.), and on fishing-boats, nets, and other tackle. There is a royalty on tin, and the sale of opium and of alcohol is a Government monopoly, farmed to Chinese. Three per cent. is levied by treaty on British and other foreign imports, export duties on a great number of raw articles, and inland or transit dues on certain tropical products. The revenue from all these sources is estimated at 80,000 catties (£800,000).

The head of the administration is the king, with five ministers,— viz., of war, foreign affairs, northern provinces, agriculture, justice, —and some thirty councillors. The office known to Europeans as 'second king” (Siamese, wang-na, lit., “front palace”) is difficult to define, as the share taken in government by him depends very much on his individual character. He has a palace and an official establishment, and a few soldiers at his orders. The country is divided into forty-one provinces, excluding the Laos and Malay states, and the Cambodian provinces. The provinces are of different grades, and their governors have very different degrees of authority. Speaking generally, they have cognizance of all civil cases,—though there is an appeal to the capital (which generally reaches its destination, as the governor’s council act as spies),—and of minor criminal cases. The graver crimes, as murder and dacoity, involving a question of life or death committed in Siam proper, are referred to a special department in the capital. Villages are governed by a head-man (kamnan, amp'hon, or nakhon), sometimes with a small salary, chosen usually in accordance with the popular wish, and dependent on the provincial capital. The Siamese mandarins in the Lao provinces do not oppress overmuch, nor do the native chiefs, since their power depends on their popularity. Besides the lower grades there are always four principal officials, the ehao, lord or king, the uparat, rachavangsa, and rachabutr (the first title of Chinese, the others of Indian origin). These are hereditary in one or two families, any disputed succession being referred to Bangkok. The Siamese law is recognized, but the national “customs” are much regarded, and in ordinary cases followed. Civil and criminal processes alike end usually in a fine. Besides the capitation tax, there is a duty on rice, and each state pays tribute to Bangkok. The tie between Bangkok and the Malay states is slighter, being confined usually to interference in cases of disputed succession, and to a triennial tribute of a gold or silver tree or flower. The rules of procedure in Siam are very strict, but theoretically there is no hereditary rank.

The laws of Siam are ancient, though not very full or complete, a great part having been lost at the sack of Ayuthia in 1753. Generally speaking, they are referable to an Indian origin, especially as regards religious, moral, and ceremonial ordinances; the civil and criminal codes bear the impress of Chinese influence. There are several digests of the law, some centuries old, under systematic headings, e.g., of the civil law, real and personal property, inheritance, ranks, evidence and ordeal, marriage, education, parental authority, slavery, money, weights and measures, contracts, and of the penal code, crimes, punishments, police, prisons. The king is absolute, but claims no absolute rights over the land. Great attention is paid to precedents. Among the peculiarities of the system are the employment of ordeal—by diving or chewing rice, &c.—in the absence of witnesses, and the rejection of the evidence of certain classes, viz., drunkards, gamblers, virgins, executioners, beggars, persons who cannot read, and bad characters. When a crime is committed the family and even neighbours of the accused can be held responsible for his appearance. The property of intestates goes to the king, of an intestate priest to his monastery; but the neglect of the heir to perform funeral rites renders his claim to property invalid,—a curious relic of Hindu feeling. Another trace of this may be found in the hereditary professions, though their doctrinal significance as castes has disappeared. The laws have many curious and not inequitable provisions about slavery (see below), e.g., if a temporary (debtor) slave has undergone punishment or suffering for his master, his debt shall be remitted wholly or in part; but, if he is a slave absolutely, his master is not legally liable. And there are well-defined rules as to non-fulfilment of contract with a slave, his maintenance during famine, injury by accidents, employment as a substitute in war, &c. Slaves who are allowed to become priests or nuns are free.

All men are liable to serve in war; but only from 4000 to 5000, taken from classes specially at the disposal of the war department, are regularly trained under European officers. The capital and surrounding forts are garrisoned, and there is a body of palace guards. The fleet consists of some twenty men-of-war and armed steamers and 500 junks.

The population is estimated by the Siamese Government at 6,000,000 for Siam proper, 3,000,000 Siamese Laos, and 1,000,000 Malays; others estimate it variously at from 6,000,000 to 8,000,000. There are besides perhaps from 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 Chinese. In lower Siam the population is clustered along the rivers and canals; in the diversified hill and plain country to the north it is distributed more generally. In character the Siamese are mild, patient, and submissive to authority. They are hospitable to strangers and to the poor; quarrels, violent crimes, and suicide are rare. But they are idle and apathetic; much time is devoted to amusements, as festivals and processions, boat races, games, cock and dog fighting, and even combats between fish. The position of women is good, although girls can be sold as wives. The Chinese population are energetic and industrious, but very independent, and sometimes give trouble, so that their increasing numbers and organization through their secret societies are a source of anxiety. The Siamese are of medium height, well formed, with olive complexion, darker than Chinese, but fairer and handsomer than Malays, eyes well shaped, nose slightly flattened, lips a little prominent, the face wide...