Under the Phibun regime, the "Thai-ification" of the economy went considerably further, and the main architec: of this policy was none other than the new Finance Minister Pridi, who inaugurated a scheme of wholesale and rapid innovations Within months of the government assuming power, new laws were drawn up which saw such areas as the production and distribution of petroleum products, tobacco manufacture, the sale of salt and birds' nests, the butchering of livestock and taxi driving become the province of Thai nationals. The earlieplans for coastal shipping to be taken over by Thai interests were also realized. These sudden changes apparently alarmed "moderate" elements in the bureaucracy as we as members of the business community. The British Minister, Crosby, who had been sending positive reports about Pridi to his superiors in London now described him as dog with an ugly tail in the sense that there is attached to him an unpleasant crowd of hangers on, some of whom are downright dishonest whilst others feed him with all manner of fantastic notions upon the subject of political economy