from Pnom-Penh (q.v.) the capital, to
Kampot, the roads of Cambodia are not suited for vehicles. Pnom-Penh
communicates regularly by the steamers of the "Messageries Fluviales" by
way of the Mekong with Saigon.

_Administration_.--At the head of the government is the king (_raj_).
His successor is either nominated by himself, in which case he sometimes
abdicates in his favour, or else elected by the five chief mandarins
from among the Brah Vansa. The _upayuvraj (obbaioureach)_ or king who
has abdicated, the heir-presumptive (_uparaj, obbareach_) and the first
princess of the blood are high dignitaries with their own retinues. The
king is advised by a council of five ministers, the superior members of
the class of mandarins; and the kingdom is divided into about fifty
provinces administered by members of that body. France is represented by
a resident superior, who presides over the ministerial council and is
the real ruler of the country, and by residents exercising supervision
in the districts into which the country is split up for the purposes of
the French administration. In each residential district there is a
council, composed of natives and presided over by the resident, which
deliberates on questions affecting the district. The resident superior
is assisted by the protectorate council, consisting of heads of French
administrative departments (chief of the judicial service, of public
works. &c.) and one native "notable," and the royal orders must receive
its sanction before they can be executed. The control of foreign policy,
public works, the customs and the exchequer are in French hands, while
the management of police, the collection of the direct taxes and the
administration of justice between natives remain with the native
government. A French tribunal alone is competent to settle disputes
where one of the parties is not a native.

The following is a summary of the local budget of Cambodia for 1899 and
1904:--

Receipts. Expenditure.
1899 L235,329 L188,654
1904 250,753 229,880

The chief sources of revenue are the direct taxes, including the
poll-tax and the taxes on the products of the soil, which together
amounted to L172,636 in 1904. The chief heads of expenditure are the
civil list, comprising the personal allowance to the king and the royal
family (L46,018 in 1904), public works (L39,593) and government house
and residences (L29,977).

_History_.--