| Having
felt many of these negative effects, it became
necessary for Siam to change and adapt in ordet
to survive this torrential current. There were
calls for "parliament" among the
educated class, such as those of Thianvarn K.S.R.
Kularb, and of the four royal family members
together with a number of government officials in
a document requesting King chulalongkorn to
change the concept of government from absolute to
constitutional monarchy in 1885. This request led
to King chulalongkorn's major administrative
reform in 1892 which replaced the traditional
administration based on the four pillard with the
western system of ministerial administration. In
order to find capable people to serve this new
system, children of the princes and noblemen were
sent to study aboard. In this regard,
scholarships were given to other youngsters of
outstanding academic ability to study in England
and Europe. However, changes in the
Thai society did not end there. The more the Thai
economy was drawn into the world economic order,
the more apparent it was that the existing
administrative apparatus could not adequately
cope. This was apparent in a memorandum by Phraya
Suriyanuwat , Minister of Finance, which
described the conditions of most Thai peasants at
the time:
"It
can generally be seen how laboriously the poor
peasants lacking capital toil in the fields. When
they are farming, their food and clothing are
inadequate and have to be bought on credit at a
high price. If they need to borrow money to pay
for it, they also have to pay high interest After
the harvest, they lack the ability to transport
their rice from the threshing ground to the
market, nor barns or silos to store the rice
until rice prices in the market rise, They are
therefore compelled to sell there and then,no
matter how low the price is, or they would have
no money to repay their debts on schedule. They
are thus at a disadvantage because they lack
capital. Ultimately, proceeds frome the sale of
their rice may not cover the expense for theri
basic necessities. The following year, they need
to enter into more debt to continue farming. Year
, by year, new debt accumulates on top of the
old. The back-breaking physical labour and
torture of toiling under sun and rain do not
create any wealth for them. In effect, their
exertions serve only to benefit others, a
pathetic sight indeed."
This
backward state of the Thai economy reflected the
country's hierarchical patronage-based social
structure, Most Thais worked in the traditional
agricultural sector, and lacked opportunities to
study and learn of changes in the outside world.
Moreover, the state under sbsolute monarchy had
no policy to establish an education system which
encouraged citizens to think creatively and
independently, but aimed rather to have a
citizenry subservient to the authoritarian
sakdina state.
For this
reason, although the 20th century had begun, Thai
citizens still had no rights, no voice, and no
participation in charting the country's -- or
even their own destinies, This social
backwardness resulted in a rebellion by
intellectuals and junior civil servants (¡º®
Ã.È. 130) in 1911, the first year in the reign
of king Rama VI, calling for the limitation of
the King's powers to come under the law. Although
the rebellion failed to change the political
system, it was nonetheless an example which
inspired revolution among democratic-minded Thai
citizens. [Next]
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