The Kingdom and People of Siam - v. 1 Author:John Bowring Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. POPULATION. T)ALLEGOIX estimates the population of Siam at -- six millions, which can at best be only approximative to the truth. In the uncer... more »tainties of Oriental statistics, with the small acquaintance we possess respecting the inhabitants of the interior, and amidst various opinions which fluctuate between three and seven millions, I am disposed to consider the real population of Siam as composed of from four millions five hundred thousand to five millions of souls. The elements of which Pallegoix makes up his total are the following:— Siamese proper (the T.hai race) . 1,900,000 Chinese 15,00,000 Laos 1,000,000 Malays 1,000,000 Cambodians 500,000 Peguans 50,000 Kareens, Xongs, andc 50,000 Total .... 6,000,000 With reference to the official census, Pallegoix says, that in speaking of the population, neither old men, nor women, nor children are ever spoken of by the Siamese. To all questions as to the number of inhabitants, the reply is, so many men. He estimates the number generally at five times the amount Vol. i. G of the record; but though the records of the census are regularly made to one of the high functionaries, he is restrained from communicating the particulars to any but the King and the ministers. La Loubere says that in his time the Siamese population was estimated at one million nine hundred thousand; but he thinks from this some retrenchment is to be made "for the vanity and lying essential to Orientals," though, on the other hand, the fugitives who have sought sanctuary in the woods against the Government ought to be added. Siam may, with its dependencies, be considered as occupied by the dominant race, or T'hai, a vast but for the most part migratory Chinese population, the Laos people, the Cambodians in s...« less