Page 214 - A History of Siam

202 A HISTORY OF SIAM

Potts and Thomas Ivatt became joint chiefs of the factory.
Burnaby had let Phaulkon run up a big debt. Potts
demanded payment, and commenced a most violent
correspondence with Phaulkon, whom he called ungrate-
ful and impudent, and whose replies he stigmatised as
"
nonsensical stuff." Ivatt took Phaulkon's side and
was dismissed. He followed Burnaby into the Siamese
Service. On the of December 6th, 1682, the house
night
and of the East India were
factory Company utterly
destroyed by fire. Potts accused Phaulkon of having
caused the fire in order to the evidence of his
destroy
debt. Phaulkon that Potts himself had burnt
alleged
the so as to conceal the defalcations ofwhich
factory down,
he had been
guilty.
These disputes only served to make Phaulkon more
and more At about this time he was
pro-French.
converted to the Roman faith, and from now on
became more or less definitely a supporter of French
interests.
In 1683 William Strangh and Thomas Yale were sent
from England to investigate the Company's affairs in
Siam. They were well received by the new P'rak'lang,
the successor of Chao Kosa
P'ya Srit'ammarat, P'ya
1 who had died in that and
T'ibodi, early year. Strangh
Yale did more harm than good. They collected none
of the debts and failed to elicit the truth about the
due,
loss of the
factory. Yale was more or less reasonable,
but had the most violent with
Strangh quarrels Phaulkon,
who had now become Chao P'ya Wijayen, and left in
a fury at the end of the same year. Strangh wrote
"
Phaulkon a in which he of
parting letter, spoke your
weak sudden
impolite understanding, jumbled by your
and elevation to a or a
surprising sovereign Lordship
1
He had been made a Chao P'ya several years previously.