Gambling, the State and Society in Siam, c. 1880-1945 James Alastair Warren School of Oriental and African Studies A thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of London 2007 ’ i ^ L’A 1 A ProQuest Number: 10672983 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10672983 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 3 Abstract This study charts the evolution of government attitudes and policies towards gambling in Siam between the 1880s and 1945. Based on the assertion that gambling was a social evil that impoverished the population, encouraged crime, and retarded economic development, successive regimes sought to reduce and regulate the scope for legal gambling. This was expressed most concretely through a series of increasingly restrictive and punitive laws, which prohibited many popular forms of gambling and subjected others to strict licensing. Consequently, there was an increase in illegal gambling. In essence, gambling went from being a state acceptable activity to one that was criminal unless conducted within certain strict parameters. At the same time, the state sought to secure a monopoly over the provision of facilities for gambling in order to ensure it was the only institution that might profit from people’s gambling habits. The central concern of this study is to examine the complex process by which a once socially and state acceptable activity becomes defined as criminal. It shows that the moral and economic arguments against gambling had to be balanced with a host of other concerns and, most crucially, the financial imperatives of the Siamese state. Along with the recognition that gambling was a part of human nature and people would continue to indulge in it regardless of its legality, financial necessity prevented the Siamese state from prohibiting gambling outright. This study also shows how this process was shaped by other state and semi-state institutions - namely the police force, judiciary, penal administration, and Buddhist monkhood - and public opinion. It moves beyond conventional histories of Siam, which portray the monarchy as the sole agent of change, to demonstrate that the criminalisation of gambling was a process in which all parts of Siamese society participated. Table of Contents List o f Illustrations page 4 Aclmowledgements 1 Abbreviations 9 Editorial Note 11 Introduction 13 1. Gambling, the Economy, and Siamese Society 32 2. Government Gambling Policy and Legislation, 1887-1917 85 3. Government Gambling Policy and Legislation, 1917-1945 129 4. Enforcement and Punishment 187 5. The Press and Public Opinion 238 Conclusion 281 Bibliography 304 4 List of Illustrations Figures 1.1 Equipment for playing po pan page 53 1.2 The Chinese legendary figure and animal for the letter ko sam huai 60 1.3 Temple mural of a cockfight 66 1.4 A bull fight 68 1.5 Placing bets on Siamese fighting-fish 68 1.6 Temple mural of a kite-flying contest 69 1.7 Chinese and Thai playing cards 70 1.8 Siamese men and women playing cards 71 1.9 Siamese men playing a game with cowries 72 1.10 Temple mural of a Chinese man hosting a game of hi-lo 72 1.11 Temple mural of a Chinese man hosting a game of three-stick trick 73 2.1 Equipment for playing bia bok 117 3.1 Tickets for the motor-racing events in Bangkok 135 3.2 Wild Tiger lottery tickets 136 3.3 A Lumphini Park Lottery Ticket 141 3.4 The Royal Bangkok Sports Club clubhouse 146 3.5 A billiard ru table 152 3.6 Constitution Celebration Lottery tickets 166 3.7 Municipal Lottery tickets 168 5.1 Cartoon from Bangkok kanmuang, 15 September 1923 258 5.2 Cartoon from Kro lek , 30 November 1924 258 5.3 Cartoon from Kro lek , 11 January 1925 261 5 Maps 2.1 Thai monthon in 1907/8 92 Tables 6.1 Number of Cases of Homicide, Gang Robbery and Robbery 287 between 1909/10 and 1919/20 6 7 Acknowledgements I would first like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Ian Brown, for his guidance, insight and patience throughout the course of my post-graduate studies. He is a great teacher who always has time for his students and an amusing anecdote to share. I know I am not alone in appreciating his warmth and kindness. Special thanks go to my Thai-language teachers, Dr David Smyth and Walaipom Tantikanangkul, for guiding me through my initial forays into reading Thai sources and for their generous help in deciphering handwriting and some near illegible documents. Dr Rachel Harrison has also provided invaluable assistance and encouragement, for which I am very grateful. I would also like to thank Professor William Gervase Clarence-Smith and Dr Michael Chamey for their comments and suggestions. In Thailand, I would like to thank Professors Dhiravat na Pombejra and Piyanart Bunnag for their advice and assistance while I was conducting the research for this study. The staff of the National Archives in Bangkok were always helpful and friendly, making the archives a very pleasant environment in which to work. During my first year of doctoral studies, extra one-on-one Thai language tuition was made possible by an award from the SOAS Language Acquisition Fund. My fieldwork in Thailand was partially funded by a grant from the University of London Central Research Fund and an Additional Award for Fieldwork from the SOAS Scholarships Committee. I also received a generous scholarship from the Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation for the writing up of this thesis. While in Thailand and at SOAS, I have made many good friends whose laughter and smiles have brightened up my life. My thanks to you all, you know who you are. Special mention must go to two of my fellow PhD students, Chatnopdol Aksomsawad and Antika Preeyanon, for their warm friendship and unsurpassed hospitality, both in London and Bangkok. Their companionship on the long and lonely road of doctoral studies has made the journey infinitely more pleasurable. Finally, words cannot express my gratitude to my parents, Rosemary and Peter Warren. Without their love and support, none of this would have been possible. 9 Abbreviations Thai Archival Documents B = Bettalet (Miscellaneous) K Kh = Office of the Financial Adviser Kh = Krasuangphrakhlang mahasombat (Ministry of Finance) Kh.Ph = Khamphiphaksa (Legal Judgments) KS = Krasuang kaset (Ministry of Agriculture) M = Krasuang mahatthai (Ministry of the Interior) MT = Krasuang mahatthai (Ministry of the Interior, post-1932) N = Krasuang nakhonban (Ministry of Local Government) NA = National Archives of Thailand R = Ratchakan t i ... (the ... Reign) RL = Ratchanulekanukan (Royal Secretariat) SR = Samnak nayok-ratthamontri (Office of Prime Minister’s Secretariat) Y = Krasuang yuttitham (Ministry of Justice) Newspapers BDM = Bangkok Daily Mail BP = Bangkok Post BT = Bangkok Times BTWM = Bangkok Times Weekly Mail CSW = Chino sayam warasap KDM = Krungthep Daily Mail NT = Nangsuphim thai SO = Siam Observer 10 Other Sources PKPS = Sathian Lalyalak et al. (comps), Prachum kotmai pracham sok [Collected Laws in Chronological Order], Bangkok, 1935+, 69 vols. RFAB = Ministiy of Finance, Report o f the Financial Adviser upon the Budget o f the Kingdom o f Siam , various years. RPAB = Report on the Police Administration of Bangkok Town, Suburbs and Railway District (title varies), various dates. SY Ministry of Finance, Department of Commerce and Statistics (name varies), Statistical Yearbook of the Kingdom of Siam (title varies), 1916+. 11 Editorial Note Transcription Thai names and words have been transcribed using the ‘General System of Phonetic Transcription of Thai Characters into Roman’ devised by the Royal Institute and set out in the Journal o f the Thailand Research Society , 33, 1 (March 1941), pp. 49-53. However, diacritics have not been employed. Following this system, the aspirated consonants k, p and t are written as kh, ph and th; the Thai word thua should thus be pronounced roughly like the English word tour. Proper names of well-known people have been spelt according to the preference of that person, where known, or according to common usage: for instance, Vajiravudh instead of Wachirawut, and Devawongse rather than Thewawong. Official spelling has been used for all place names. Names, Ranks and Titles Following convention, Thai people are referred to by their first name and this is how they are listed in the bibliography. Various titles are used for royalty and these indicate the generational descent of a particular member of the royal family. Under the absolute monarchy, members of the royal family that entered government service where also granted a rank. In this study, the children and grandchildren of kings have been referred to simply as princes or princesses. Until the absolute monarchy was abolished in 1932, bureaucrats and military officers were granted the following ranks in ascending order: khun, luang, phra, chao phraya and, very rarely, somdet chao phraya. Individuals were also given a title, which was commonly used in place of their actual name, and this is how they are referred to in the text. For example, Pan 12 Sukhum is referred to as Chao Phraya Yomarat. Many retained these titles as surnames following the 1932 coup, most notably Luang Phibunsongkhram (Plaek Khitasangka).