In witness whereof the undersigned, Phya Suriya, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of His Majesty the King of Siam accredited to the President of the French Republic, and M Delecassé, deputy, minister for foreign affairs of the French Republic, duly authorized to this effect, have drawn up the present protocol, to which they affix their seals.

Done in Paris in duplicate the 29th of June, 1904.

PHYA SURIYA.
DELCASSÉ.

TREATY BETWEEN DENMARK AND SIAM FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A SYSTEM OF JURISDICTIONS.

No. 226.]

Minister King to the Secretary of State.

AMERICAN LEGATION, Bangkok, Siam, March 30, 1905.

SIR: I have the honor to inclose a copy of the treaty signed March 24, 1905, between Siam and Denmark. The explanatory statement prefixed comes from Mr. Strobel, and as such can be relied upon as the views of the Siamese Government.

I would call attention especially to Article VI on jurisdiction. This treaty acknowledges the Bangkok Siamese court of appeals, as does the French treaty. An endeavor was made to secure a Danish legal adviser to sit in this court when Danish interests were involved, but did not succeed. As indicating the tendency of the treaty powers toward Siam just now this treaty is of interest, following, as it does, so soon after the ratification of the Franco-Siamese treaty of December 9, 1904,

* * *

The general adviser for the Siamese Government informs me that the attitude of Denmark throughout these negotiations has been most cordial. And I can discover in the several concessions made on the part of Denmark evidence of nothing but a desire to assist the Siamese Government and to take as advanced a position in this direction as any of the treaty-making powers. * * *

In this connection it is to be observed that the signatory for Denmark, Mr. A. E. Olarovsky, is the Russian minister resident at this court.

I have, etc.,

[Inclosure.]

HAMILTON KING.

New treaty between Siam and Denmark.-System of jurisdictions.

With the exception of the treaties with England and France, no plan of jurisdiction is provided by the present treaties. Most of those treaties contain merely an article to the effect that where a question is at issue between a Siamese and a foreigner the consul of the foreigner and a Siamese functionary should come together and try to settle the matter amicably. Such a provision is of course entirely impracticable under present conditions and is virtually a dead letter. It therefore becomes necessary to establish a definite system of jurisdiction with all the treaty powers, and the treaty with Denmark which was signed yesterday is the first of a series which will be negotiated by the Siamese Government for this

purpose.

Article I of the treaty restricts the right of protection to those persons to whom the Danish law gives Danish nationality.

Articles II to V, providing for a joint inquiry, follow closely the English treaty of 1899. The last paragraph of Article III, however, providing for the submission of this question to a third person where there is a difference between the consular officer and the Siamese representative, is new.

Articles V to, regarding jurisdiction, follow closely the recent French treaty. Where the defendant is a Dane, the case is brought before the Danish consul; where a Siamese. before the Siamese court of foreign causes. In the North the number of provinces in which the international court is to have jurisdiction includes the provinces mentioned both in the English treaty and the late French treaty, with the addition of Pray, which is not included in either the English or the French treaty. The articles in the Danish treaty are also fuller and clearer and provide that the international court shall have jurisdiction not only over questions between Danes and Siamese, but also in cases where a Dane is a defendant and the plaintiff a foreigner.

It will also be noticed that in the Danish treaty, as in the French treaty, appeals from the North are to the Siamese court of appeals of Bangkok.

TEXT OF TREATY.

The following is the full text of the new treaty:

His Majesty Somdetch Phra Paramindr Maha Chulalongkorn, King of Siam and all its dependencies, Laos Chiang, Laos Kao, Malays, Kareans, etc., and His Majesty Christian the Ninth, King of Denmark, of the Vandals and Goths, Duke of Schleswig Holstein, Stormarn, the Ditmarshes, Lauenburg, and Oldenburg;

Desiring to facilitate and extend the relations of friendship and good understanding between their respective countries, have resolved to conclude a convention concerning the registration of and jurisdiction over Danish subjects in Siam, and have to that end appointed the following plenipotentiaries:

His Majesty the King of Siam, His Royal Highness Prince Devawongse Varoprakar, minister for foreign affairs;

And His Majesty the King of Denmark, A. E. Olarovsky, esquire, minister resident of his Majesty the Emperor of Russia, charged with Danish interests in Siam, commander of the Royal Danish Order of Danebrog;

Who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers and found them to be in good and due form, have agreed upon and concluded the following articles: I. The registration of Danish subjects residing in Siam shall comprise all persons residing in Siam upon whom the Danish laws confer Danish nationality, and no other person shall be entitled to any protection from the Danish Government.

II. The lists of registration shall be open to the inspection of the Siamese Government on proper notice being given.

III. If any question arises as to the right of any person to be registered at the Danish consulate or as to the validity of a certificate of registration issued by that consulate, a joint inquiry shall be held by the consul for Denmark and a duly authorized representative of the Siamese Government, who will settle the question, giving due regard to the evidence to be produced in behalf of the validity of the certificate or of the right of the person to be registered.

If the representative of the Siamese Government and the consul for Denmark can not agree, they shall be entitled to submit the evidence in the case to a third person to be agreed upon by them both, whose decision shall be final.

IV. Should any action, civil or criminal, be pending while such inquiry is going on which by its nature can not be deferred until the result of the inquiry is known, the question of the court in which such action shall be heard shall be determined conjointly by the Danish consul and the representative of the Siamese Government.

If the person in respect of whom the inquiry is held come within the conditions for registration laid down in Article I of this agreement he may, if not yet registered, forthwith be registered as a Danish subject and provided with a certificate of registration at the Danish consulate; otherwise he will be recognized as falling under Siamese jurisdiction, and if already on the lists of the Danish consulate his name shall be erased therefrom.

VI. With regard to the jurisdiction to which in the future without any exception all Danish subjects in Siam will be subjected the two governments agree:

A. (1) In criminal matters if the offender be a Danish subject, he shall be tried and punished by the Danish consular officer.

(2) În civil matters all actions brought by a Siamese against a Danish subject shall be heard before the Danish consular court. If the defendant is a Siamese, the action shall be heard by the Siamese court for foreign causes.

B. (1) But all civil or criminal cases arising in the provinces of Chiengmai, Lakhon, Lampoon, Pray, and Nan brought or instituted either by the Siamese Government or by Siamese or foreign subjects, in which a Danish subject may be a defendant, and likewise all civil and criminal cases in which a Danish subject may be the plaintiff or complainant, the defendant being a person under Siamese jurisdiction, shall be heard before the Siamese international court.

(2) In any of the cases mentioned in the last preceding paragraph the Danish consul shall have the right to be present at the trial or to be represented there by a duly authorized delegate and to make any observation which he may deem proper in the interest of justice.

(3) In cases where the defendant is a Danish subject, the Danish consul may, at any stage of the proceedings, if he thinks proper, by means of a written requisition evoke the case before him. Such case shall then be transferred to the Danish consular court, which shall from that time alone be competent to try the case, and to which the Siamese authorities shall be bound to give their assistance.

(4) In all criminal cases where the law allows bail, the accused shall be admitted to bail instead of being imprisoned.

VII. Appeals from the judgments rendered by the court for foreign causes, as well as by the international court established in the provinces of Chiengmai, Lakhon, Lampoon, Pray, and Nan, shall be brought before the court of appeal of Bangkok.

VIII. All enactments in former treaties, agreements, or conventions between Denmark and Siam that are not modified.by the present convention remain in full force.

IX. The present convention shall be ratified and the ratifications shall be exchanged within six months from date of its signature.

In witness whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the present convention and have affixed their seals.

Done at Bangkok in two copies in English as the language of communication between the high contracting parties on this the 24th day of March, in the year 1905 of the Christian era. DEVAWONGSE VAROPRAKAR. A. E. OLAROVSKY.

ABOLITION OF GAMBLING HOUSES AND SLAVERY IN SIAM.

No. 227.]

Minister King to the Secretary of State.

AMERICAN LEGATION, Bangkok, Siam, March 31, 1905. SIR: The Siamese Government has decided upon a systematic move against gambling in the Kingdom. There are now 103 large gambling houses throughout the interior. It has been decided to abolish 80 of these 103 on the beginning of next April; the remainder of the 103 shall be abolished the 1st of April, 1906; and there will be made a serious endeavor to abolish all the large gambling houses in this city on the 1st of April, 1907. To meet the very large falling off of revenue which will be caused by this move a readjustment of the land tax has already begun. By this plan it is calculated that all the loss in revenue caused by the abolishment of the gambling houses outside of the city will be fully met. To meet the loss of revenue caused by the abolishment of the houses within the city is a doubtful endeavor. For remedy for the loss in the country Siam depends upon herself by increasing the land tax; but in doing this she feels that she is placing all the burden upon her people that they should bear. For the loss of revenue caused by the abolishing of the houses in the city she will have to depend upon the cooperation of the Christian nations, and, anomalous as it may seem, herein she will find her difficulty. She proposes to meet the loss in the city by raising her import dues to a moderate degree. Being an extraterritorial country the treaties with the outside nations which now fix import dues at 3 per cent can be changed only by the permission of the Christian nations. * * *

Preparatory to this endeavor I have been approached by both Mr. Strobel and the department of the interior, His Royal Highness Prince Krom Luang Damrong, with the request that I make known to my government the full import of this decree and with the request

that I should use my influence to secure the good offices of my government in support of this endeavor. I am assured by these gentlemen that the government is a unit on this question, and hence that there can be no difference or party feeling on the matter, so far as the Siamese are concerned.

Outside of the American missionaries there are very few American citizens in Siam and outside of missionary interests very few American interests represented in Siam. The American missionaries have been a very potent factor in bringing about this decree. Only yesterday Prince Krom Luang Damrong said in my hearing: "I consider the American missionaries are my most efficient agents in carrying forward my endeavors for the progress of Siam;" hence to lend the influence of our government to this work is not only to help Siam toward better things, but to forward the American interests which are most prominent in Siam to-day. That the American missionary is the advance guard of American commerce finds no stronger proof in any country than in this country; hence for the American Government to support the interests of the American missionary as they are to day prosecuted in Siam is, on the large, to support and to advance the interests of America in Siam. It is a real pleasure to be able to say this, and still more of a pleasure to see the many evidences that the Siamese Government recognize the value of our people in the country. Within the past six months Siam has sold to our mission station at Nan, hundreds of miles outside the real-estate foreign-purchase limit as defined by the treaty, a fine piece of real estate, and given them the first clean deed issued to a foreigner in Siam.

* * *

This one concrete case I trust will serve to illustrate the relation of Siam to the American missionaries, of the American missionaries to the progress of Siam, and the reason why Siam turns with expectation to the American Government at such a time as this.

I have, etc.,

[Inclosure.]

HAMILTON KING.

Notification by the Minister of Finance on the abolition of gambling, 124.

The minister of finance has been commanded by His Most Gracious Majesty the King to issue the following notification:

His Majesty has long been impressed by the fact that although the revenue derived from gambling is an important factor in the finances of the Kingdom the evils resulting therefrom are much greater than the benefits. People expend in gambling not only their own wealth but the wealth of others. They devote to gambling time during which they should be attending to their work. Under present conditions large sums of money which come into the hands of the gambling farmers are sent out of the kingdom. Gambling is also responsible for much of the crime that is committed. The abolition of gambling would, therefore, not only result in an improvement in the morals of the people and in increased industry, but money now expended therein would remain in circulation within the country, thereby adding to the wealth of the community.

In order, however, to replace the loss of the revenue derived from gambling, some taxeS must be increased and new taxes devised. In the increase of certain of these taxes it will be necessary to enter upon negotiations with foreign powers. Gambling can not, therefore, be suppressed at once, but must be gradually abolished. His Majesty, therefore, has been pleased to order the abolition of gambling within the period of three years, as follows:

In the year 124 gambling shall be entirely abolished in Phitsnuloke, Puket, Udon, Burapha. and Chantaboon, just as it was abolished in the year 117 in Chumpon and Nakon Sritamarat. In the same year gambling shall be abolished in the other Monthons and in all those places where the revenue derived is less than 50,000 ticals. This includes the following 84 places in the provinces, namely: * * *

In the year 125 His Majesty decrees that the remaining gambling houses in the provinces, amounting to 22 in number, shall be abolished.

As a result of the above, at the beginning of the year 126 the only gambling places left in the Kingdom will be those within the limits of the city of Bankok. The revenue necessary to replace the loss resulting to the government from the abolition of the places in the provinces mentioned above which is to be effected during the years 124 and 125 will be replaced by some modifications in the present system of internal taxation. In order to replace the revenue sacrificed by the abolition of gambling in Bankok, it will be necessary to enter into negotiations with the treaty powers. Negotiations will be begun for that purpose with those powers, and as soon as a satisfactory result is obtained His Majesty will be pleased to decree the abolition of gambling within the limits of the city of Bankok, and thus throughout the Kingdom, and it is hoped that this aim will be accomplished so that this entire abolition will take place in the year 126.

Dated the 9th day of February, 1905.

MAHISRA, Minister of Finance.

No. 233.]

Minister King to the Secretary of State.

AMERICAN LEGATION,

Bangkok, Siam, April 21, 1905.

SIR: I inclose the copy of a royal decree issued by His Majesty on March 31, 1905, abolishing the last remnant of debt slavery in the Kingdom, another evidence of Siam's vitality.

I have, etc.,

HAMILTON KING.

[Inclosure. Translation.]

Abolition of slavery in Siam-New law.

By a new law now passed the Government of Siam is completing the task of the gradual entire abolition of all such remnants of the old system of slavery as still remain in existence. The text of the new law is as follows:

Although slavery in our realm is very different from slavery as it has existed in many other countries-most slaves being persons who have become so voluntarily and not by force and the powers of the master over the slaves being strictly limited-yet we have always considered that the institution, even in this modified form, is an impediment to the progress of our country. We have, therefore, from the commencement of our reign taken steps, by the enactment of laws and otherwise, for the abolition of slavery, notably by the law of Pee Chau (corresponding to Ratanakosindr Sok 93 and the year 1874 of the Christian era).

We now deem it time to take more sweeping measures which will gradually result in the entire disappearance of slavery from Siam, and to that end we are pleased to decree as follows: SECTION 1. This law shall be known as the law for the abolition of slavery, Ratanakosindr Sok 124.

SEC. 2. This law shall come into force on the 1st of April, Ratanakosindr Sok 124, throughout the Kingdom, except in the Monthons of Bayap and Burapha where we have already enacted special laws on the subject, and also except in the Monthon of Saiburi and in Kelantan and Tringganu, where the laws of the religion of the people are still in force.

SEC. 3. All children born of parents who are slaves shall be free without the execution of the condition stated in the law of Pee Chau.

SEC. 4. No person now free can be made a slave. If any person now a slave shall hereafter become free he can not thereafter again become a slave.

SEC. 5. Wherever any person is now held a debt slave, the master shall credit upon the principal of the debt for which he is held a slave the sum of four (4) ticals for each month after the 1st of April, 124, provided that no credit shall be allowed for any time during which the slave may desert his master.

SEC. 6. If a slave changes his master, no increase shall be made in the debt for which he is actually held—that is to say, when the slave is transferred from one master to another, he can be held by the new master only for the amount of the debt actually due the old master at the time of the transfer.

Done in Bangkok on this the 31st day of March, Ratanakosindr Sok, 123.