The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. LXIV, Part 1-2, 1976 - Khamkoo

AMERlCAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
51
American Consul. Harris recorded in his journal of April 26, 1856:3o
While with the Smndet Oong Noy on Friday morning,
he strongly recommended -Mr. Mattoon as the best person to
be American Consul, saying he knew the Siamese language,
custom, etc., etc. That he was a discreet good man; that
they had full confidence in him; that he never lied; and that
he never got angry, all of which I assented to and believe him
the best person for that place that the government could
select.
On May 28 Harris commissioned Mattoon as American Consul, noting
again in his journal Mattoon's virtues and qualifications and adding,
"He is popular with both of the Kings and the nobles."31
The Rev. Stephen Mattoon was a native of New York State who
had arrived in 1847, the first permanent Presbyterian missionary to Siam.
He was fluent in Thai and served as Harris' interpreter throughout the
mission. We have the evidence of Anna of "Anna and the King" on his
good relations with Mongkut,32 and be seems to have been respected in
30) Cosenza, ed., Journal, p. 12!. The "Somdet Oong Noy," or "Younger Somdet"
("Somdet" was a royal or ecclesiastical title, very rarely awarded non-royal
nobles) was That Bunnag, a man of great power and influence. His family
had put Mongkut on the throne, and with the death of his brother tbe "Elder
Somdet" (Dit Bunnag) in 1855 he had become head of the family and principal
spokesman of the older generation, even though real power was beginning
to gravitate toward his nephews. The complex web of family power structures
is cogently explained in David K. Wyatt, "Family Politics in Nineteenth
Century Thailand," Journal of Southeast Asian History, vol. 9, no, 2 (September
1968), pp. 202-228. (However, the "Younger Somdet" died in 1858 and
not, as this article indicates, in 18 55.)
31) Cosenza, ed., Journal, pp. 155-56. fn a footnote the editor also quotes William
M. Wood, a surgeon who accompanied Harris to Siam and wrote a
valuable account of the mission, to the effect that the Thai were anxious to
have Mattoon as American Consul.
32) Quoted in Darling, Thailand, p. 13. See also the testimony of C.W. Bradley
enclosed in Bangkok Despatches, June 30, 1856.