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.

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.

COMPREHENSION III

1. You can’t earn stone palaces by honest labour. Justify with reference to the
story.
Answer: The kinglet is of the opinion that to live in stone palace one requires
money. The money to maintain a high standard of living cannot be always earned
through honest means. The King by virtue of his position has to maintain a great
life style; he has to pay salary to his courtiers, ministers, Bishop, generals, soldiers
and to meet the myriad expenditure of the State. Hence, large sum of money is
required to break even the income and expenditure.

The kinglet of Monaco got money from the citizens in the form of taxes. However,
Monaco had only 7000 inhabitants and hence the amount accrued from taxes was
meagre. Further, very few people in the kingdom of Monaco smoked or
consumed wine and spirits and hence income generated from taxes was
considered insufficient for governance. Perforce, the King had to devise a new
strategy to create the wherewithal to have more income to be able to govern and
administer the kingdom effectively. The king acknowledges that to have to earn
money through honest means is difficult. Thus, he gave legal approval to gambling
to happen in his kingdom.

The King knew that gambling is bad. Gambling did more harm than good. The
family of gamblers suffered the most. Giving permission to gambling was
unethical and amoral. However, the king required money to command and to
rule. The king sided with dishonesty because he wants to secure his position as
the Monarch. Thus, for the king honesty was not the best policy and he says very
proudly that ‘You cannot earn stone palaces through honest labour’.

2. Though the trial and imprisonment of the criminal is depicted in a comic

Answer: The serious questions raised deals with governance and moral good of
the society. The prisoner was condemned to be guillotined. However, the decision
was changed to life imprisonment by the king due to monetary considerations
because it benefitted the king and the State. Still later the criminal was advised to
run away from the prison because the king was not in favour of spending money
on the criminal. This was an unethical and immoral act but the king changed the
laws because he found the decision suited his financial needs.

Further, the criminal was intelligent and he was able to negotiate a deal in his
favour. He gets a pension and an annuity from the king. Thus, we find that the
criminal was able to outwit everyone.

Some of the serious questions raised are as follows: -

(a) The tax payer money is used to house the criminals in the prison. This is
paradoxical as people work diligently and their hard-earned money goes for the
upkeep of the prisoners.

(b) A clever and intelligent prisoner can win cases if he argues his point well;
the story brings out the lacuna in our legal system and machinery of justice.

(c) The government changes its laws to suit its requirements.

(d) The king does not suffer from any moral scruples and is amoral in his
demeanor.
(e) The king is perceived to be an individual who can do no wrong and he has full
authority to change decisions.
(f) Decisions taken are not based on the books of law or social code of conduct
and are at time whimsical.
(g) Valuable time is wasted in deliberations and meetings.
(h) There is a big gulf between what is preached and practiced.

3. Were there other ways of dealing with the criminal? Discuss in light of the
story?

Answer: The criminal could have been hanged till death. Guillotine is not the
only way to kill a criminal. The king had the option to banish the criminal from the
kingdom. Alternately, the king could have shown mercy.

The criminal was able to negotiate his case very well. He got his freedom, a
pension and an annuity as well. The prisoner was kept idle in the prison. The
criminal could have been put to work. The money spent for the upkeep of the
prisoner is the tax payer’s hard-earned money and it is not correct to waste the
money.

I personally feel that Death Penalty is not the right kind of punishment. Life
imprisonment is better. The prisoner is to be given the chance to correct himself.
Human beings cannot give life and so they do not have the right to take life.
However, in this case the decision was changed from death penalty to life
imprisonment because the king found it too expensive to get a guillotine and an
executioner from France and Italy.

The prisoner was set free. It happened because the king wanted to save money.
The King and his council of ministers were not worried about public safety; to set
a murderer free in the society. This involved putting citizens life at risk and peril.
To save money becomes an important consideration for decision making. This
indicates that the Kinglet only thinks about his financial benefit. He wants money
for himself and is not concerned about the citizen’s safety. This is hypocritical and
falls short of moral and ethical standards.