Acta juris Hungarici, 1932 (1. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)

1932 / 3-4. szám - Autonomous municipal administration in Hungary. (A magyar önkormányzati közigazgatás.)

210 Naturally, each reform which affected the County system could not be carríed out without prolonged effort. By gradual steps it became clear to the people that Ministerial responsibility to Parliament for legislation affecting the whole nation could be maintained without abrogating the powers of the Counties. Indeed, it became increasingly clear in the course of time that the multiplicity of the tasks of the Civil Service required an extension of local self-government to meet the exigencies of modern progress. Even at the present time, the importance of local self-government has not been understood by many theoretical writers and politicians and misconceptions of the theory of local-government have resulted in the failure of legislative acts. Somé politicians are inclined to regard local-government as a purely administrative process. Others are of opinion that it is characterised by the absence of appointment of officials by the Central Government. This latter conception, however, ignores the classical example of Great Britain whose local system of self-government relieves the State of an enormous burden of local taxation and administration of educational, sanitary, health and Police administration. In Great Britain the Local Authorities, including the County Councils, Úrban District Councils and Parish Councils, are all elected by the people and each has its special functions carried out within the ambit of the powers conferred by Acts of Parliament passed for the purpose of enabling the Local Authorities to take on their shoulders the enormous burden which otherwise would render the tasks of the Imperial Government impossible. All these duties of local administation are carried out in England by Councillors elected by the local people and are performed without payment or any reward. The Local Authorities out of Local Taxation, partly contributed by the State, pay their own officials who are not servants of the CroWn in the same sense as the Government officials. Hungárián public men have always been convinced