ABSTRACT
Northwood's previous experience in Indo-China now afforded him a singular insight into the state of affairs in Siam. Matters had long been very strained between the French Republic and the Kingdom of Siam, owing to all sorts of intricate boundary questions, the registration of Siamese as French subjects, and other grievances. Northwood remembered that when he was last in Saigon, the impending annexation of Siam was talked about very freely, and one enthusiastic official told him that as soon as the French flag floated over Bangkok all foreign companies in Siam would be compelled to surrender their docks, wharves, teak forests, etc., to French subjects in exchange for such compensation as might be offered.
