Shan states situated between the Cambodia and Salween Rivers, a degree of law and order would prevail, and, protected from the attacks and robberies of each other, these tribes would soon begin to accumulate wealth, for their country is possessed of great resources.
"Protection" and "annexation" constitute a serious bugbear to any scheme of railroad building or canal construction in Siam. If the Siamese and Laos could be convinced that there was no design upon their possessions, they would not be averse to the opening up of their country by railroads. It is difficult to believe that the intellectual and political torpor which has so long characterized Siam is to continue. The conflict between the old and the new is inevitable; the numerical majority is, of course, under the influence of ancestral traditions and inherited beliefs, opposed to all change; but the constant contact with Western ideas must modify this spirit of reverence for what is old simply because it is old. Even "far-off Cheung Mai" is, I confidently believe, soon to awaken out of her long sleep, and, no longer dreaming of the past, to advance into the better future.
THE END.
