Ságvári Ágnes (szerk.): Budapest. The History of a Capital (Budapest, 1975)
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circumstances where the necessary conditions for freedom of trade are not yet ensured, a sudden change to unlimited freedom of trade must be regarded as altogether catastrophic, since in foreign trade even those of our values which still remain would ooze away, while on the home market the great difficulties against which industry and commerce organized on a basis of Christian morality have to contend in the acquisition of goods would be further increased to their disadvantage. 3. The General Assembly disapproves of the attacks habitually launched against cooperatives, and censures them; although it is true that through the provision of easy purchase terms, and the fact that they do not only serve their members, the consumers’ co-operatives have done considerable damage to retail trade, yet there is no doubt that with their immense turnover and the employment of thousands of Christian clerks in the economic field, these organizations under attack have rendered valuable service to the activities of our business organizations based on Christian morality; nor is there any room for doubt that with a proper economic policy these bodies must continue to be a firm support to them. Pesti Levéltár [Archives of the City of Budapest], Minutes of the General Assembly, March 9th, 1921. XIX The opposition to the new Municipality Act. Excerpt from the minutes of the Municipal General Assembly February 7th, 1930 ... Member of the board, Dr. Ernő Bródy presents the following draft memorandum: Honourable Gentlemen of the Chamber of Deputies! ... In the drafting of the municipal bill now under debate, we much regret that the care which this subject deserves is lacking. We feel very strongly over the fact that the government has given the Municipal Board of the capital no means or opportunity of presenting in time their comments on the provisions of the bill, which will exercise a decisive influence on the future of the municipality. Circumstances beyond our control have created a situation in which we present ourselves before the honourable Chamber of Deputies when the municipal bill is already being debated in the Chamber to submit our objections and suggestions, the final conclusion of which is the unavoidable plea that it may please the Chamber of Deputies to remove the municipal bill from the agenda and instruct the government to frame a new bill in accordance with the following observations. It is not our responsibility, nor our task, to submit a new bill, complete with the subjectmatter duly divided into sections, parallel with the deliberations of the Chamber of Deputies. In this memorandum we only wish to outline the guiding ideas and basic principles which in our view should be implemented. 1. What we desire above all is to maintain inviolate the principle and freedom of municipal autonomy. The basic principle and substance of self-government is that such an authority should exercise its rights and carry out its duties through its elected officials. The government is empowered to exercise powers of supervision and control only in so far as demanded in the national interest for the enforcement of legally binding laws and decrees, in the na105
