Church of Scotland, consisting of delegates from every presbytery,
university, and royal burgh in Scotland. It has the countenance of a
representative of the king, styled the Lord High Commissioner, who is
always a nobleman. It holds its meetings annually and (according to the
present practice) in the month of May, usually sitting for ten or twelve
days. In its judicial capacity as a court of review, and as the court of
last resort, the General Assembly has a right to determine finally every
question brought from the inferior courts, by reference, complaint, or
appeal. It possesses, besides, a general superintendence of the discipline
of the Church, of the management of the inferior courts, of the conduct of
the clergy, and of the morals of the people. In its legislative capacity it
has the power of enacting statutes with regard to every subject of
ecclesiastical cognizance, which are binding on the Assembly itself, on the
inferior courts, and on the individual members of the Church. But by an Act
of Assembly in 1697, from its substance and design named the Barrier Act,
every proposition for a new law must first be considered in the form of an
overture; and though it should be approved of by the Assembly it cannot be
enacted as a statute till it has been first transmitted to the several
presbyteries of the Church for their consideration, and has received the
sanction of at least a majority of the presbyteries. The United Free Church
of Scotland has also a General Assembly similar in its constitution and
functions to that of the Established Church, and the same is the case with
the Presbyterian Churches of Ireland and America.
ASSEMBLY, NATIONAL (France), a body set up in France on the eve of the
Revolution. Upon the convocation of the States-General by Louis XVI the
privileged nobles and clergy refused to deliberate in the same chamber with
the commons or _tiers-etat_ (third estate). The latter, therefore, on the
proposition of the Abbe Sieyes, constituted themselves an _assemblee
nationale_, with legislative powers (17th June, 1789). They bound
themselves by oath not to separate until they had furnished France with a
constitution, and the Court was compelled to give its assent. In the 3250
decrees passed by the Assembly were laid the foundations of a new epoch,
and, having accomplished this task, it dissolved itself, 30th Sept., 1791.
ASSEMBLY OF DIVINES. See _Westminster Assembly_.
ASSEMBLY, THE RIGHT OF, is an essential principle of popular government, as
understood by the British and American constitutions. The right of British
citizens to assemble peaceably for any purpose which is not strictly
prohibited by law is implied in the right of petition, as affirmed in the
Bill of Rights (q.v.). Unlawful assembly, which is a criminal offence, is
distinguished from the offence of riot. Whilst the latter is an actual
attempt to carry an unlawful purpose into effect, the former is defined as
"an assembly with intent to carry out a common purpose which may lead to a
breach of the peace".
AS'SEN, chief town of the province of Drenthe, Holland. Pop. 13,000.
ASSENT', THE ROYAL, is the approbation given by the sovereign in Parliament
to a Bill which has passed both Houses, after which it becomes a law. It
may either be done in person, when the sovereign comes to the House of
Peers and the assent (in Norman French) is declared by the Clerk of
Parliament; or it may be done by letters-patent under the great seal,
signed by the sovereign.
AS'SER, JOHN, a learned British ecclesiastic, originally a monk of St.
David's, distinguished as the instructor, companion, and biographer of
Alfred the Great, who appointed him abbot of two or three different
monasteries, and finally Bishop of Sherborne, where he died in 908 or 910.
His life of Alfred, written in Latin in 893 (_Annales Rerum Gestarum
Aelfredi Magni_), is of very great value, though its authenticity has been
questioned. There are several English translations of it.
ASSESSED TAXES, taxes charged upon persons by means of a schedule or paper
sent to each, and strictly including such taxes as the income-tax, the
house-tax, local rates, &c. In Britain the so-called assessed taxes include
those upon servants, carriages, dogs, armorial bearings, &c., though these
are really excise licence duties.
ASSES'SOR, a person appointed to ascertain and fix the amount of taxes,
rates, &c.; or a person who sits along with the judges in certain courts,
and assists them with his professional knowledge.
AS'SETS (Fr. _assez_, enough), property or goods available for the payment
of a bankrupt or deceased person's obligations. Assets are personal or
real, the former comprising all goods, chattels, &c., devolving upon the
executor as saleable to discharge debts and legacies. In commerce and
bankruptcy the term is often used as the antithesis of 'liabilities', to
designate the stock in trade and entire property of an individual or an
association.--_Intangible_ (or fictitious) assets are those not represented
by any existing value, e.g. goodwill; _liquid_ assets are cash,
investments, or other immediately available funds.
ASSIDE'ANS, HASIDE'ANS, or HASIDIM ('the pious'), one of the two great
sects into which, after the Babylonish captivity, the Jews were divided
with regard to the observance of the law--the Hasidim accepting it in its
later developments, the Zadikim professing adherence only to the law as
given by Moses. See _Pharisees_, _Talmudists_, _Rabbinists_.
ASSIEN'TO, the permission of the Spanish Government to a foreign nation to
import negro slaves from Africa into the Spanish colonies in America, for a
limited time, on payment of certain duties. It was accorded to the
Netherlands about 1552, to the Genoese in 1580, and to the French Guinea
Company (afterwards the Assiento Company) in 1702. In 1713 the celebrated
_Assiento Treaty_ with Britain for thirty years was concluded at Utrecht.
By this contract the British obtained the right to send yearly a ship of
500 tons, with all sorts of merchandise, to the Spanish colonies. This led
to frequent abuses and contraband trade; acts of violence followed, and in
1739 a war broke out between the two Powers. At the peace of
Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, four years more were granted to the British; but
by the Treaty of Madrid, two years later, L100,000 sterling were promised
for the relinquishment of the two remaining years, and the contract was
annulled.
ASSIGNATS ([.a]s-[=e]-ny[.a]), the name of the national paper currency in
the time of the French Revolution. Assignats to the value of 400,000,000
francs were first struck off by the Constituent Assembly, with the
approbation of the king, 19th April, 1790, to be redeemed with the proceeds
of the sale of the confiscated goods of the Church. On the 27th Aug. of the
same year Mirabeau urged the issuing of 2,000,000,000 francs of new
assignats, which caused a dispute in the Assembly. Vergasse and Dupont, who
saw that the plan was an invention of Claviere for his own enrichment,
particularly distinguished themselves as the opponents of the scheme.
Mirabeau's exertions, however, were seconded by Pethion, and 800,000,000
francs more were issued. They were increased by degrees to 45,578,000,000,
and their value rapidly declined. In the winter of 1792-3 they lost 30 per
cent, and, in spite of the law to compel their acceptance at their nominal
value, they continued to fall, till in the spring of 1796 they had sunk to
one three hundred and forty-fourth their nominal value. This depreciation
was due partly to the want of confidence in the stability of the
Government, partly to the fact that the coarsely-executed and
easily-counterfeited assignats were forged in great numbers. They were
withdrawn by the Directory from the currency, and at length redeemed by
mandats at one-thirtieth of their nominal value.
ASSIGNEE', a person appointed by another to transact some business, or
exercise some particular privilege or power. Formerly the persons appointed
under a commission of bankruptcy, to manage the estate of the bankrupt on
behalf of the creditors, were so called, but now they are called
_trustees_.
ASSIGN'MENT is a transfer by deed of any property, or right, title, or
interest in property, real or personal. Assignments are usually given for
leases, mortgages, and funded property.
ASSINIBOI'A, the smallest of the four districts into which that portion of
the north-western territories of Canada now forming the provinces of
Saskatchewan and Alberta was divided in 1882. It lay on the west of
Manitoba, with Saskatchewan on the north and Alberta on the west, the
United States on the south. The name is now given to an electoral district
of the province of Saskatchewan. The region contains much good wheat land.
Regina was the capital, as it now is of the new province.
ASSINIBOINE, a river of Canada, which flows through Manitoba and joins the
Red River at Winnipeg, about 40 miles above the entrance of the latter into
Lake Winnipeg, after a somewhat circuitous course of about 500 miles from
the west and north-west. Steamers ply on it for over 300 miles.
ASSIOUT. See _Siout_.
ASSISI ([.a]s-s[=e]'s[=e]), a small town in Italy, in the province of
Umbria, 20 miles north of Spoleto, the see of a bishop, and famous as the
birthplace of St. Francis d'Assisi. The splendid church built over the
chapel where the saint received his first impulse to devotion is one of the
finest remains of mediaeval Gothic architecture.
ASSI'ZES, a term chiefly used in England to signify the sessions of the
courts held at Westminster prior to Magna Charta, but thereafter appointed
by successive enactments to be held annually in every county. Twelve
judges, who are members of the highest courts in England, twice in every
year perform a _circuit_ into all the counties into which the kingdom is
divided (the counties being grouped into seven circuits), to hold these
assizes, at which both civil and criminal cases are decided. Occasionally
this circuit is performed a third time for the purpose of jail-delivery. In
London and Middlesex, instead of circuits, courts of _nisi prius_ are held.
At the assizes all the justices of the peace of the county are bound to
attend. Special commissions of assize are granted for inquest into certain
causes. In Scotland the term _assize_ is still applicable to the jury in
criminal cases.
Among the more important historic uses of the term _assize_ are its
application to any sitting or deliberative council, and its transference
thence to their ordinances, decrees, or assessments. In the latter sense we
have the Assizes of Jerusalem, a code of feudal laws formulated in 1099
under Godfrey of Bouillon; the Assizes of Clarendon (1166), of Northampton
(1176), and of Woodstock (1184); also the _assisae venalium_ (1203), for
regulating the prices of articles of common consumption; the Assize of Arms
(1181), an ordinance for organizing the national militia, &c.
ASSMANSHAUSEN. See _Asmannshausen_.
ASSOCIATED COUNTIES, a term applied to Essex, Cambridge, Norfolk, Suffolk,
and Hertford, with, subsequently, Huntingdon and Lincoln. The association
was formed in 1642 to raise an army for the Parliament and keep the war out
of their own districts. The successive leaders were Lord Grey of Wark, the
Earl of Manchester, and Cromwell.
ASSOCIATION OF IDEAS, a doctrine of both psychological and philosophical
import. In psychology the term is used to comprise the conditions under
which one idea is able to recall another to consciousness. It is,
therefore, the doctrine which deals with the reproduction of past
experience by a present object of consciousness. The phrase 'association of
ideas' was first introduced by Locke, and dealt with by Berkeley and
Hartley, who became the founder of the so-called _Associationist School_.
ASS'ONANCE, in poetry, a term used when the terminating words of lines have
the same vowel sound but make no proper rhyme. Such verses, having what we
should consider false rhymes, are regularly employed in Spanish poetry; but
cases are not wanting in leading British poets. Mrs. Browning not only used
them frequently, but justified the use of them.
ASSOUAN ([.a]s-s[=o]-[.a]n'), or ASWAN (_Sy[=e]n[=e]_), a town of Upper
Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile, below the first cataract, opposite the
Island of Elephantine. The granite quarries of the Pharaohs are here. Pop.
15,000.
ASSOUAN DAM, a great dam constructed across the Nile in Upper Egypt, near
Assouan, at the foot of the first cataract. It is about a mile and a
quarter long, and is provided with a large number of sluices in two tiers.
It was originally built to a height of about 96 feet between 1898 and 1902,
and raised to a height of 112 feet above bed-rock between 1907 and 1911. It
is intended to regulate the supply of water for irrigation purposes to the
country lower down, the water being stored up at the time when the river is
high, and allowed to escape when it is required for the crops. When the
reservoir is full it forms a lake about 130 miles long. The dam was planned
by Sir William Willcocks, and the work carried out under Sir William
Garstin and Sir Benjamin Baker, at a cost of L5,000,000 (Egyptian).
ASSUMP'SIT, in English law, an action to recover compensation for the
non-performance of a _parole_ promise; that is, a promise not contained in
a deed under seal. Assumpsits are of two kinds, _express_ and _implied_.
The former are where the contracts are actually made in word or writing;
the latter are such as the law implies from the justice of the case; e.g.
employment to do work implies a promise to pay.
ASSUMPTION. See _Asuncion_.
ASSUMPTION, FEAST OF, the ecclesiastical festival celebrating the
miraculous ascent into Heaven of the Virgin Mary's body as well as her
soul, kept on the 15th of August. The legend first appeared in the third or
fourth century, and the festival was instituted some three centuries later.
ASSURANCE. See _Insurance_.
[Illustration: Assyrian bas-relief from the Palace of Nimrud showing
Lion-hunting about 884 B.C.]
ASSYR'IA (the ASSHUR of the Hebrews, ATHURA of the ancient Persians), an
ancient monarchy in Asia, intersected by the upper course of the Tigris,
and having the Armenian Mountains on the north and Babylonia on the south;
area, about 50,000 sq. miles; surface partly mountainous, hilly, or
undulating, partly a portion of the fertile Mesopotamian plain. The
numerous remains of ancient habitations show how thickly this vast flat
must have once been peopled; now, for the most part, it is a mere
wilderness. Geographically and historically, however, Assyria and Babylonia
are interdependent, and the Assyrians and Babylonians are ethnographically
and linguistically the same race. Whereas, however, the classical authors
speak of Assyria to the exclusion of Babylonia, the decipherment of the
inscriptions has proved that Babylonia was the mother-country, and that
Assyria, except during a period of eight centuries, was a dependency of the
former. This discovery coincides with the contents of the tenth chapter of
_Genesis_. See _Babylonia_.
AST, Georg Anton Friedrich, German philosopher, 1776-1841. He wrote on
aesthetics and the history of philosophy, but is best known as an editor of
Plato, whose works he published with a Latin translation and commentary.
AS'TACUS. See _Crayfish_.
ASTAR'TE, a Syrian goddess, probably corresponding to the _Ashtaroth_ of
the Hebrews, and representing the productive power of nature. She was a
moon-goddess. Some regard her as corresponding to _Hera_ (_Juno_), and
others identify her with _Aphrodit[=e]_.
ASTATIC NEEDLE, a magnetic needle having another needle of the same
intensity fixed parallel to it, the poles being reversed, so that the
needles neutralize one another, and are unaffected by the earth's
magnetism; used in the _astatic galvanometer_.
AS'TER, a genus of plants, nat. ord. Compositae, comprehending several
hundred species, scattered over Europe and Asia, but mostly natives of
North America. Many are cultivated as ornamental plants. One, _A.
Tripolium_, is native in Britain, and is found in salt marshes, having a
pretty purple flower. Asters generally flower late in the season, and some
are hence called Michaelmas or Christmas Daisies. The China Aster, not an
aster proper (_Aster_ or _Callist[)e]phus chinensis_), is a very showy
annual, of which there are many varieties.
ASTERABAD'. See _Astrabad_.
ASTE'RIA, a name applied to a variety of corundum, which displays an
opalescent star of six rays of light when cut with certain precautions; and
also to the _cat's-eye_, which consists of quartz, and is found especially
in Ceylon.
ASTER'IDAE. See _Asteroidea_.
AS'TERISK, the figure of a star, thus *, used in printing and writing, as a
reference to a passage or note in the margin, or to fill the space when a
name, or the like, is omitted.
ASTEROI'DEA, the ord. of the Echinodermata to which the star-fishes belong.
See _Star-fishes_.
AS'TEROIDS, PLANETOIDS, or MINOR PLANETS, a numerous group of very small
planets revolving round the sun, in the great majority of cases at mean
distances, intermediate between those of Mars and Jupiter, in orbits of
large eccentricity at considerable inclination to the ecliptic. The
diameter of the largest is not supposed to exceed 450 miles, while most of
the others are very much smaller. Over one thousand are known, and new
members are being constantly discovered. The first to be discovered was
Ceres, on 1st Jan., 1801, and within seven years more Pallas, Juno, and
Vesta were seen. The diminutive size of these four bodies, and resemblances
in their orbits, gave rise to the opinion that they were but the fragments
of a planet that had formerly existed and had been brought to an end by
some catastrophe. For nearly forty years investigations were carried on,
but no more planets were discovered till 8th Dec., 1845, when a fifth
planet in the same region of the solar system was discovered. The rapid
succession of discoveries that followed was for a time taken as a
corroboration of the disruption theory, but the breadth of the zone
occupied makes the hypothesis of a shattered planet more than doubtful. In
recent years a few have been discovered which are at times considerably
within the orbit of Mars, the nearest perihelia being less than 15 million
miles beyond the earth's orbit. Another group, known as the 'Trojan
Planets', has been found, whose mean distances are practically identical
with that of Jupiter. The total mass of the asteroids cannot exceed
one-fourth that of the earth, and is probably much less. See _Planets_.
ASTEROL'EPIS, a genus of primitive ganoid fishes, found only in a fossil
state in the Old Red Sandstone. They were about 1 foot long, and the head
and body were enclosed in armour of strong bony plates.
ASTHMA (ast'ma), difficulty of respiration, returning at intervals, with a
sense of stricture across the chest and in the lungs, a wheezing, hard
cough at first, but more free towards the close of each paroxysm, with a
discharge of mucus, followed by a remission. Asthma is essentially a spasm
of the muscular tissue which is contained in the smaller bronchial tubes.
It generally attacks persons advanced in years, and seems, in some
instances, to be hereditary. The exciting causes are various--accumulation
of blood or viscid mucus in the lungs, noxious vapours, a cold and foggy
atmosphere, or a close, hot air, flatulence, accumulated faeces, violent
passions, organic diseases in the thoracic viscera, &c. In recent years a
treatment first used by Dr. Alexander Francis has come into prominence. By
far the most important part of the treatment consists in obviating or
removing the several exciting causes. It seldom proves fatal except as
inducing dropsy, consumption, &c.
ASTI ([.a]s't[=e]), a town of Northern Italy, province of Alessandria, 28
miles E.S.E. of Turin, the see of a bishop, with an old cathedral. In the
Middle Ages it was one of the most powerful republics of Northern Italy. It
was the birthplace of Alfieri, the poet, whose statue adorns the principal
square. There is also an equestrian statue of King Humbert. The industries
comprise silk, matches, gold, mosaic wares, &c. A favourite wine is
produced in the neighbourhood. Asti, anciently _Asta_, was a place of some
importance under the Roman emperors, and in the Middle Ages was an
independent republic. Pop. 41,252.
ASTIG'MATISM (Gr. _a_, not, _stigma_, spot, mark), a malformation or
imperfection, congenital or accidental, of the globe of the eye, in
consequence of which the individual does not see objects clear and
distinct, but with a blurred outline. It is due to the cornea or
transparent outer coat of the eye not being regularly spherical, but having
different degrees of curvature in different directions. Usually the degree
of convexity is not the same horizontally as it is vertically, so that the
rays from an object, instead of converging into one focus, meet in more
than one. If a person with this defect is looking at vertical lines crossed
by horizontal ones he will see the one set more distinctly than the other,
though a slight movement will enable him to see the other distinctly also,
but not at the same time. Almost all eyes are more or less astigmatic, but
persons only become aware of it when it is excessive. Special lenses are
required to correct it--usually lenses plane in one direction and concave
or convex in the other. Short sight or long sight is often associated with
astigmatism, so that suitable spectacles cannot be very easily provided.
ASTLE, Thomas, English antiquary, born 1735, died 1803. He was a trustee of
the British Museum and keeper of the public records in the Tower. His chief
work, _The Origin and Progress of Writing_, appeared in 1784, and the
portion dealing with mediaeval handwriting is still of value. He formed a
famous collection of MSS., the most valuable portion of which is now in the
British Museum.
ASTOM'ATA, one of the two groups into which the Protozoa are divided with
regard to the presence or absence of a mouth, of which organ the Astomata
are destitute. The group comprises two classes, Gregarinida and Rhizopoda.
See _Stomatoda_.
ASTON MANOR, formerly a municipal and parliamentary borough of
Warwickshire, England, situated about 1-1/2 miles E.N.E. of Birmingham, and
engaged in similar branches of industry. It was incorporated with
Birmingham in 1911 and gives its name to one of its parliamentary
divisions. Pop. 75,029.
ASTOR, John Jacob, born near Heidelberg, Germany, 1703, died at New York,
1848. In 1783 he emigrated to the United States, settled at New York, and
became extensively engaged in the fur trade. In 1811 the settlement of
Astoria, founded by him, near the mouth of the Columbia River, was formed
to serve as a central depot for the fur trade between the lakes and the
Pacific. He subsequently engaged in various speculations, and died worth
L4,000,000, leaving L80,000 to found the Astor Library in New York. This
institution is contained in a splendid building, enlarged in 1859 at the
cost of his son, and comprises about 260,000 volumes. Since 1895 it has
formed part of the New York public library.--His great-grandson, William
Waldorf Astor, born in 1848, died in 1919, naturalized in England in 1899,
was made a baron in 1916 and a viscount in 1917.
ASTOR, LADY. Nancy Witcher, Viscountess Astor, married the second Viscount
Astor in 1906. She is a daughter of the late Colonel Chiswell Dabney
Langhorne, of Virginia, United States. In Nov., 1919, she was elected
member of Parliament for the Sutton division of Plymouth, and was the first
woman to take a seat in the House of Commons.
ASTOR'GA, a city of Spain, province of Leon; the _Asturica Augusta_ of the
Romans. It figured prominently during the Peninsular War; it was taken by
the French after an obstinate defence, 1810, and retaken by the Spaniards,
1812. Pop. 5682.
ASTO'RIA, a town of Oregon, United States, on the Columbia River, with
numerous salmon-canning establishments. Pop. 10,595. See _Astor_.
ASTRABAD', a town of Persia, province of same name, about 24 miles E. of
the Caspian. It was formerly the residence of the Kajar princes, the
ancestors of the present Persian dynasty. It is very unhealthy, but is
still the centre of a considerable trade. Pop. estimated at from 10,000 to
30,000. The province of Astrabad has an area of 5800 sq. miles, and a pop.
of 150,000.
ASTRAE'A, in Greek mythology, the daughter of Zeus and Themis, the goddess
of justice. During the golden age she dwelt on earth, but on that age
passing away she withdrew from the society of men and was placed among the
stars, where she forms the constellation Virgo. The name was given to one
of the asteroids, discovered in 1845. It revolves round the sun in 1511.10
solar days, and is about 2-1/2 times the distance of the earth from the
sun.
AS'TRAGAL, in architecture, a small semicircular moulding, with a fillet
beneath it, which surrounds a column in the form of a ring, separating the
shaft from the capital.
ASTRAG'ALUS, a genus of papilionaceous plants, herbaceous or shrubby, and
often spiny. _A. gummifer_ yields gum tragacanth.