The sun., 1909-06-28

foreign Government any lands noru
of the territory now conveyed to Grea
Britain, and not to permit any foreign
Government or company to establish
coaling stations or docks or to acquire
the exclusive occupation Of any strate'
gic or commercial harbor. These pro-
visions do but sanction formally the
resistance which Great Britain would
certainly have made to the interposi-
ton of any great Power on the flank
of Burma or between Burma and the
Straits Settlements.
The consideration which Siam re-
ceives is the substitution of Siamese
for international jurisdiction over Brit
ish sojourners in Siam; in other words,
the displacement of the regime OF
extratsrritoriality by Siamese courts,
Siamese civil and criminal codes, and
the Siamese code Of procedure. The
desirability of the change is argued in
the explanatory memorandum. As re-
CARDS personal security, for instance,
the memorandum AYERS that an exami-
nation Of the treaty and Of the outcome
of an inquiry made into the actual
conditions existing in Siam shows that
British subjects there will stand in a
far more favorable position than do
British subjects in many countries
Venezuela under the Castro regime,
for example-where no guarantees of
any kind exist in the courts and where
the good offices of the British diplomatic
or consular officials constitute a British
subjects sole protection and support
in any legal prooeedings-a resource
which, of course, is also still open to
British subjects in Siam.
On the desirability from a Siamese
point of view Of abolishing the system Of
extraterritoriality we need not dwell.
Az regards ability to administer justice
and equity the Siamese tribunals rank
with those Of Japan and ut least on q
par with those of European Turkey.
Then again, so far as the transfer to
Great Britain of jurisdiction over the
territories referred to in the treaty is
concerned, the explanatory memoran-
dunn points out that owing to their dis
tance from Bangkok and the difficulties
of communication, especially during the
northeast monsoon. it was impossible
for Siam to maintain an effective admin
istration over them. The people are
Malays and Mohammedans, like the
natives OF the areas to the south which
form the Federated Malay States. The
administration of the States now an
nexed is at present self-supporting, and
there is no reason to fear that it will
become a burden either on the Fed
Grated Malay States or to the British
taxpayer. Indeed, Kelantan, the most
Of the ceded States, has been
under British administration
to its great advantage by agreement
with her since 1902.
The only European Power from which
some years ago opposition might have
been expected to this latest extension
Of the British Empire is obviously
France. The Germans missed in 1871
their opportunity of gaining foothold
in Farther India, and for a long time
France, having absorbed successfully
Tonquin, AMMAN and some territory
which once held the relation of vassal
10 Siam, seemed destined to occupy the
whole region east Of Burma; but that
prospect was renouncod in the brilliant
treaty by which NJ. DELCAssE wiped out
,t a stroke all the causes Of enmity
which had kept France and England
apart for centuries and substituted an
entente cordiale.