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

90 Benjamin A. Batson
one of the most successful. Barrett's term in Bangkok, l10wever, began
not with successes but with a series of ignominious failures, and for a
time the, young minister seemed likely to merit the title subsequently
applied (by Arthur Link) to the author of the notorious Zimmermann
telegram: "A Prince of Diplomatic Bunglers."
Barrett had been sent to Bangkok especially to deal with the
Cheek case, the main issue outstanding between the )'hai and American
Governments, and most of his time in Bangkok was devoted to this case
and to the related Kellett case, which arose in 1896. Briefly, the Cheek
case involved a dispute between the American missionary turned teak
dealer, Marion A. Cheek (and, after his death in 1895, the Cheek estate),
and the Thai Government. Cheek had borrowed money from the Thai
Government and held leases to teak forests in the Nortb, ·and the
government, claiming that Cheek had failed to meet his obligations, had
seized most of his assets (consisting chiefly of elephants and ctJt teak
logs.) Cheek claimed that he had not violated the contract and that his
enterprise bad been on the verge of success, and sought damages from
the Thai Government for illegally seizing his property and bringing
about his financial ruin. The Kellett case involved an alleged attack by
Thai soldiers on.E.V. Kellett, American Vice Consul-General, who was
in Chiengmai on business partly related to the Cheek case.2oo Barrett!
1.1nlike some ofhis predecessors, strongly believed that Cheek had been
200) The tyvo cases are treated in tedious detail in Martin, "A History,,.Chapter 6_,
pp. 205-59. Martin (p. 20 8), citing the opinions of Barrett and the Briti~h
teak merchant Louis Leonowens, says· that the Thai Government wanted to
use Cheek as "a tool" in opposing British interests. The Cheek and Kellett
cases also take up much of the voluminous Siam Despatches between 1893 and
1899 •.
The Thai case against Cheek was based largely on his alleged failure to
make scheduled interest payments on hisJoans. Irop.ical!y,i11 1879, before
Cheek had left mis~ionary. work for the teak business, he wrote a letter from
the North co~menting. that the Chinese' and Burmese in the. timber trade
used borrowed. papita~ and were often unable to make their interest
payments. (Enclosed jn Ban(fkok Despatches, DecemQer. s, _1879), ·.,