Recent years have witnessed great changes in the methods of governing and judging the people. In nothing is the distinction between Old and Young Siam so definitely marked. But it is the old order of things that will chiefly concern us in this chapter, for the new order, though indicative of great progress, has been carried out by Western minds in imitation of Western methods, and it therefore presents little which is of intrinsic interest to the student of foreign customs. But as any account of the country's laws and legislation would be incomplete without some mention of modern reforms, a brief account of some of the most important of them is here given. The King is theoretically an absolute monarch with power to control the life and property of every one of his subjects. But he appointed a Cabinet to assist him in carrying on the government of his country, and it is very doubtful whether he would now care to exercise his despotic authority to the full, should he by so doing incur the combined opposition of the Cabinet he has created. There are twelve ministers in this Cabinet, who hold portfolios and seats. They are 1. The Minister for Foreign Affairs. 2. The Minister for Finance, who is also Minister of Customs and controls the various monopolies, gambling and opium farms. 3. The Minister for War, who controls both Army and Navy. 4. The Minister of Justice. 5. The Minister of the North, who has under his control the administration of nearly all the provinces north of Bangkok. 6. The Minister of the South and West, who also directs the civil and military _corvée_. 7. The Minister of the Royal Household. 8. The Minister of Public Works, including the railways, posts and telegraphs, and all public buildings. 9. The Minister of Local Government, with control of prisons, police, and police-courts in Bangkok. He combines the functions of a Lord Mayor and a Home Secretary. 10. The Minister for Agriculture, who grants mining concessions, superintends surveys, and looks after the land revenues. 11. The Minister of Public Instruction. Under him are placed the hospitals, the museums, and a number of ecclesiastical establishments. 12. Privy Seal. The Cabinet holds its business meetings at night. They begin about eight o'clock and sit on through the cool dark hours of the night and early morning. The king may or may not be present.