nt, in view of the numerous races and creeds included among
his subjects, was the proclamation of liberty of conscience. This was
followed by the erection of schools and hospitals, the construction of
roads and railways, and the further development of the army and fleet
which his father had initiated. To him Siam is indebted for its standard
coinage, its postal and telegraph service, and for the policing,
sanitation and electric-lighting of Bangkok. Several of his sons,
including the crown prince, were educated in England, and in the summer
of 1897 he himself visited England, arriving at Portsmouth in his yacht
on the 29th of July. On the 4th of August he was received by Queen
Victoria at Osborne. After a tour in Great Britain he proceeded to
Berlin, Brussels, and the Hague and Paris. (See also SIAM.)

CHUMBI VALLEY, a valley connecting Tibet (q.v.) with the frontier of
British India. Lying on the southern slopes of the Himalayas at an
altitude of about 9500 ft. above the sea, the valley is wedged in
between Bhutan and Sikkim, and does not belong geographically but only
politically to Tibet. This was the route by which the British mission of
1904 advanced. Before the date of that expedition the valley had
acquired a reputation for beauty and fertility, which was subsequently
found to be only comparative in relation to the barrenness of the rest
of the Tibetan frontier. The summer months, though not hot, are relaxing
and enervating.

CHUNAR, or CHUNARGHUR, a town and ancient fortress of India, in the
district of Mirzapur, in the United Provinces, situated on the south
bank of the Ganges. Pop. (1901) 9926. The fort occupies a conspicuous
site on the summit of an abrupt rock which commands the river. It was at
one time a place of great strength, and still contains a magazine, and
is fortified with batteries. In the old citadel on the height, the
remains of a Hindu palace with some interesting carvings indicate the
former importance of the place. The town, which consists of one or two
straggling streets, contains a handsome English church. Chunar is first
mentioned in the 16th century, when in possession of Sing Joanpore. In
1530 it became the residence of Shere Shah the Afghan, and forty-five
years later was recovered by the emperor Akbar after sustaining a siege
of six months. It fell into the hands of the English under General
Carnac in 1763 after a prolonged resistance which caused considerable
loss to the