“There are, Sir,” he answered, “including your household and the officers of your guards, one hundred and twenty-six functionaries in Monaco. There are sixty soldiers and carbineers, and there are one hundred and fifty unpaid consular and diplomatic representatives of Monaco abroad.”
“How many servants have I in all, including stable men?”
“Twenty-five.”
“Then you mean to say that there are three hundred and sixty-one persons employed under the crown for a population of thirteen hundred male inhabitants of full age?”
“Yes, Sir, and M. Blanc employs on his works and at the Casino eight hundred of the remainder.”
This was a startling state of things, but I soon found out that, as Colonel Jacquemet had used his men twice over on my arrival, so we used our politicians twice or thrice, politicians being happily scarce with us. Many posts were filled by one man, a plan which has its advantages as well as its drawbacks, the advantages predominating in a country where there are eleven hundred and sixty posts to fill and only thirteen hundred grown male inhabitants.
To give you an idea of the way in which we used our men, Baron Imberty, our Governor-General for instance, was also President of the Council of State, Chancellor of the Order of St. Charles, President of the Maritime Council, President of the Board of Public Works, President of the Bureau de Bienfaisance, etc. etc.
Thanks to M. Blanc and his gambling establishment, and thanks to the large private fortune of my family, the finances of Monaco were in a flourishing position. Prince Charles had had half a million of francs a year of private fortune and of revenue from the gambling tables. My cousin Albert had had three hundred thousand francs a year. I consequently had eight hundred thousand francs of private fortune, or £32,000 a year, out of which I could easily keep up the palace, the stables, and, if I chose, a powerful steam yacht, together with my cousin’s house in Belgium as a summer residence. The cost of the government for army, church, education, and justice, was two hundred thousand francs a year. Public works were dealt with liberally by M. Blanc as a part of his “concession.” The ordinary revenue was derived from four sources, each contributing about an equal share. These were:—
I. The payment of the Government of France for half the value of the tobacco sold in the principality on behalf of the French régie.
II. The payment of France for customs collected by France in my ports.