The purpose of this research is to study the works in the field of communications in the reign of King Chulalongkorn which was the basic foundation of the present communication system in Thailand. It attempts to investigate how large an allocation of the governmental budget for the establishment and management of this public communication system and how effectively did these plans were put into action. In studying this topic, the researcher studies different types of communication system by water, by land, and including the telecommunication system. The subject is carefully examined accordingly: firstly, causes and objectives of many facets of the establishment and management of the communication system. Secondly, the developmental processes including the organizers of the projects. Thirdly, problems and obstacles of the processes delaying the projects. Fourthly, the evaluation of the results of the successful projects. This research is organized into 8 chapters. The introductory chapter describes the purpose of the study, the scope, procedures and the data used in the research and the research benefits including suggestion in doing this research. Chapter I describes the historical patterns of communication systems prior to the reign of King Chulalongkorn. ChapterII deals with the processes of communication system both by water and by land in the urban areas especially in the Circle of Krungthep. Chapter III shows the establishment and management of communication system both by water and by land in the rural areas. Chapter IV describes the means of communication in the reign of King Chulalongkorn, for example, boats, carriages, and transport novelties imported from the West such as motorcars, bicycles, rickshaws and tramcars. Chapter V deals with the railways construction and its prospects. Chapter VI gives a description of the construction of telecommunications including telegraph, telephone and wireless. Chapter VII summarizes the causes and effects of the different communication processes which are the formation and growth of the present communication systems in Thailand. It also tries to evaluate the usefulness and value of the investments in building up the communication system. Analytical criticism and comparison of different communication system in the reign of King Chulalongkorn and the present are also treated.
