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

98 Benjamin A. Batson
classes."22I
Nonetheless Barrett gave enthusiastic support to the
program of reforms initiated by Chulalongkorn, and when the king's
1897 European tour was announced be invited Chulalongkorn to visit the
United States as well. Barrett had not cleared this proposal with Washington,
and the Department of State sent a strong reprimand when it
discovered that the minister had taken it upon himself to invite a head
of state for an official visit.222
It was also while Barrett was American Minister that Great Britain
and France signed a convention guaranteeing the territorial integrity of
the central part of Siam (but not the periphery), in order to provide a
buffer state between the Asian empires of the two European powers.
Barrett thought the agreement good for Siam, and, indirectly, for the
United States. Barrett generally had good relations with the o~er
treaty power representatives, and in contrast to the policy of some of
his predecessors, he stressed their "necessity of acting in harmony."l 23
Shortly after his arrival in Bangkok, Barrett bad reported:224
221) Siam Despatches, January 16, 1895. The following year, in a confidential
despatch, Barrett was even more pessimistic. Noting that, ''Reforms are
constantly announced but not enforced," he said that many of the Thai elite,
including some of the royal family, did not expect the government to survive,
and were making investments abroad. In particular, "I am informed on
excellent authority that the women in the palace (the best political thermometers)
are secretly negotiating such arrangements as will make them and their
property safe, if the King dies or other complications develop." (Siam
Despatches, ..\ugust 19, 1896.)
222) Barrett claimed that he had only issued the invitation after first ascertaining
that it would be declined (Siam Despatches June I, 1897).
In one report Barrett said of King Chulalongko:rn : ''He is a man who
has the respect of foreigners and natives alike. He is easily the ablest
statesman of Siam, and well fitted to be its ruler." (Consulat Reports, vol. 57,
no. 212 (May 1898), p. 60.)
223) Siam Despatches, January 30, 1896; February 18, 1896; March 2, 1896; and
August I 0, 1896. The quotation is from this last despatch, which was occa~
sioned by Barrett's becoming doyen of the diplomatic corps in Bangkok.
224) Siam Despatches, June 30, 1894. In another despatch, Barrett, "with no
intention of reflecting in any way on a predecessor," criticized Eaton's han~
dling of the Cheek case, and said that in Eaton's time "it was commonly stated
in Bangkok that the Siamese Foreign Office knew much more about the affairs
of this Legation and Consulate General than did the Department of State at
Washington." (October 22, 1895).