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of the Reign, there was a young party who began to criticize the King in many ways, but not openly. In the Reign which has just ended, things got much worse, for many reasons which I have no need to tell you, as you known them well enough. The King has become a person liable to be influenced by anybody who could gain the ears of a favourite. Every official is more or less suspected ⟨of⟩ embezzlement or nepotism. Fortunately the Princes were still respected as being on the whole honest folks. What was very regrettable was that the Court was heartily detested and in later years was on the verge of being rediculed. The birth of FREE PRESS aggravated matters still more. The position of the King has become one of great difficulty. The movements of opinion in this country give a sure sign that the days of Autocratic Rulership are numbered. The position of the King must be made more secure it if this Dynasty is going to last. Some sort of GUARANTEE must be found against an unwise King. | ||
| What form then should the Government of Siam take? | ||
| ⟨3rd Question⟩ | Must this country have a Parliamentary system one day, and is really the Anglo-Saxon type of Parliamentary Government suitable to an Eastern people? | |
| 4st Question | Is this country ready to have some sort of representative Government? | |
| I personally have my doubt as to the 3rd question. As to the 4th question, my personal opinion is an emphatic No. | ||
| What then should be done in the meanwhile? My first attempts to find some sort of guarantee for the person of the King is the creation of the Supreme Council. | ||
| c) The Supreme Council. | The Genesis of the Supreme Council is worth telling with some detail. | |
| I have discussed the idea of such a Council among my friends for some time, before I had any idea that I should have the opportunity of creating it myself. The idea found a firm supporter in Prince Damrong. Just one day before the late King’s death, I consulted the Princes Bhanurangsi and Paribatra about this idea. The former was not very keen on it, as he thought that it would lessen the prestige of the King, but the latter was enthusiastic. When the King died, it was decided that the Supreme Council should be created at once. We had 2 days only to prepare a proclamation, and 3 days after the death of the late King, the |
