SOAS Research Online

Abstract

In April 1892 King Chulalongkorn instituted a modem, western-based system of government in Siam, involving the establishment of twelve Ministries with clearly defined functional responsibilities. This study is primarily concerned with the early development of one of those Ministries, the Ministry of Finance - the creation of the Ministry in the late 1880s, its legal establishment in 1892 and its emergence as an important constituent part of the Siamese administration by the end of King Chulalongkorn's reign in 1910. In addition considerable attention is paid to the various financial reforms promoted by the Ministry in this period. Chapter I examines the imperialist threat to Siam in the late nineteenth century and the consequent need for financial reform, and includes an analysis of the pre-reform system of financial administration and of the attempts at financial reform in the first half of the reign of King Chulalongkorn. Chapters II to V trace the development of the Ministry of Finance from the late 1880s to 1910 with particular reference to the development of budgetary control; in addition considerable attention is paid to specific reforms and developments - the appointment of a British Financial Adviser from 1896, the raising of loans in Europe in 1905 and 1907, the closure of the provincial gambling dens in the mid-1900s. Chapter VI is concerned with the currency and exchange reforms promoted by the Ministry of Finance in this period - principally the adoption of a gold-exchange standard over the period 1902 - 1908 - Chapter VII with the abolition of the tax farm system and the introduction of revenue collection by direct Government agency. Chapter VIII is a conclusion and includes a comparison of the development of the Siamese financial administration over the period 1885 - 1910 with contemporaneous financial reforms in other parts of Asia, particularly colonial Asia.