COMPREHENSION I

1. Why Monaco was called a small country?

Answer: Monaco was called a small country because it had only 7000 people
living in the Kingdom.

2. Name the commodities taxed in Monaco?

Answer: Tobacco, wine and spirits and the people had to pay poll tax.

3. What was the source of the King’s special revenue? Who were its
beneficiaries?

Answer: The special revenue came from a gaming house where people played
‘Roulette’. The Kinglet and the owner of the gaming house were its beneficiaries.

4. Why did the Germans stop gaming houses in their country and how did it
benefit Monaco?

Answer: The Germans stopped gaming houses in their country because the
gaming houses did more harm than good. Gamblers in debt would often drown or
shoot themselves. The King of Monaco gave legal approval to gambling. All the
gamblers from Germany came to Monaco to gamble and thus Monaco profited
from the decision.

5. What was the punishment given to the murderer?

Answer: The prisoner was condemned to be guillotined.

6. The death sentence was converted into life imprisonment because carrying
out the death sentence was expensive.

7. How much did the king spend annually on the criminal?

Answer: More than 600 francs a year.

8. On what condition did the criminal agree to go away from the prison? How
was his demand fulfilled?

Answer: The prisoner was offered a pension amounting to 600 francs by the
Minister of Justice and the Council. The decision was approved by the Kinglet. He
then agreed to leave the prison. He was also given one- third of the annuity in
advance thus his demand was aptly compensated.

COMPREHENSION II

1. Though gambling is a dirty business, why does the King of Monaco resort to
it?

Answer: The King of Monaco knows that gambling is a dirty business but he
resorts to it because he requires money to rule his kingdom. A total of 7000
people lived in the kingdom and the money accrued from taxes, wine and spirits
was meager (less). Hence, the king gave legal approval to gambling. Further, the
king had to maintain his status quo as the monarch. He lived in a stone palace,
and had to pay his courtiers, ministers, Bishop, General and the army for which he
wanted money. Thus, gambling was legalized and the keeper of the gaming
house paid a large sum of money to the king. The strategy was aimed to generate
funds and revenue to facilitate governance.

2. Why did the king of Monaco keep changing his mind in dealing with the
criminal?

Answer: The king of Monaco kept changing his mind in dealing with the criminal
for financial considerations. The accused was initially awarded the death penalty
and was condemned to be guillotined. However, Monaco did not have a guillotine
or an executioner. The cost of procuring a guillotine and an executioner from
France and Italy proved to be very exorbitant. The French and Italian government
were charging 16000 francs and 12000/-francs respectively. The expenditure was
considered unjustifiable. The kinglet feared that there would be a riot as citizens
of Monaco would oppose the decision. Hence, the death sentence was changed
to life imprisonment. Later the king to his consternation found that an amount of
600 francs a year was incurred (spent) on the prisoner which included expenses
on food, lodging and salary being paid to the guard. To curb expenses admissible
to the State, the prisoner was advised to run away from the prison.

3. Why was the criminal reluctant to go out of the prison?

Answer: The criminal was reluctant to go out of the prison because his character
was ruined. He opined that he was blacklisted and was branded as a criminal and
hence people would not trust him in giving him an employment to earn a living.
Secondly the prisoner had become lazy owing to leading a sedentary (inactive) life
in the prison. The prisoner also augmented that he had undergone great mental
stress and strain. First, he was awarded the death punishment which was later
changed to life imprisonment. He suffered during the interim period as the death
penalty to guillotine him was not carried out forthwith. Later the guard was
removed and the criminal had to bring his food from the palace kitchen. The
prisoner thus was not willing to obey the orders when asked to leave the prison.

4. How did the criminal lead his life after his release?

Answer: The prisoner lead a very comfortable life after his release from the
prison. He had received one third of his annuity in advance. He was also entitled
to a pension amounting to 600 francs. Thus, his financial problems were solved.
The prisoner had emigrated just across the frontier where his identity was
unknown; he bought a bit of land and started market gardening. He lived happily
and made it a point to visit Monaco to draw his pension on time and visited the
gaming tables and gambled for for a small amount of money (two or three stakes)
every month.