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| When the late King came to Throne, the Prince of Pitsanuloke recommended the formation of a Council of State similar to what existed in Russia at that time (not the Douma). I believe the matter was discussed in a Cabinet meeting, but the scheme was not adopted, owing to the opinion of Mr. Jens Westengaard who thought that any makeshift form of Parliamentary system would serve no good purpose. | ||
| Prince Damrong has now submitted a new idea of a Legislative Council, composed of officials nominated from every Ministry. This Council will really work as a sort of Law drafting Commission. We have already got a Department for drafting laws, and I am not sure that the proposed Council would be able to do the work better. Rather the contrary I am afraid, and it will delay work too. Besides that, it may attempt to criticize the policy of the Ministers, and as the Councillors are officials in the Ministries appointed for a time only, the system may not be very good for discipline. The difficulty about such a nominated Council has always been the question of recruiting the members. At the present moment we cannot afford to pay the members, and we cannot get unpaid members. | ||
| 7th Question. | Should we have a Legislative Council? What should be the constitution of such a Council? (I have received many petitions to form some sort of Council). | |
| ⟨2.⟩ Financial Affairs. | ||
| I will not say much about financial affairs as I do feel that I am not competent in the matter. I think that we have a very capable advisor in Sir Edward Cooke. | ||
| The one important question is the proper division of the resources available among the Ministries. I know that, in your opinion. We spend too much on the Defence forces. I am inclined to agree with you in this respect, yet the cutting down of expenditures on Defence is a very serious responsibility. Very few people dare advocate such a thing, as we have too many experiences of the swashbuckling policy of our neighbours. | ||
| I am getting the whole of our financial policy overhauled, but I am somewhat at a disadvantage in not really competent in the matter. |
