162 ASS 
ASSES, order of, a denomination of Ma- 
thurins, or Trinitarians; so called because 
they were obliged, in travelling, to ride on 
asses, not horses. 
ASSESSOR, an inferior officer of justice, 
appointed chiefly to assist the ordinary judge 
w ith his opinion and advice. 
Assessor is also one who assesses or set- 
tles taxes, and other public dues. 
ASSETS, in law, goods or property in the 
hands of a person, with which he is enabled 
to discharge an obligation imposed upon him 
as executor, See. Assets may be real or per- 
sonal. 
ASSIENTO, a Spanish word, signifying a 
farm, in commerce, is used for a bargain be- 
tween tire king of Spain and other powers, 
for importing negroes into the Spanish domi- 
nions in America, and particularly to Buenos 
Ayres. The iirst assiento was made by the 
French Guinea company ; and by the treaty 
of U trecht, transferred to the English, who 
were to furnish 4800 negroes annually. 
ASSIGN, in common law, a person to 
whom a thing is assigned or made over. 
ASSIGNEE, in law, a person appointed 
by another to do an act, transact some busi- 
ness, or enjoy a particular commodity. 
Assignees may be by deed or by law : by 
deed, where the lessee of a farm assigns the 
same to another; by law, where tire law 
makes an assignee, without any appointment 
of the person intitled, as an executor is as- 
signee in law to tire testator, and an adminis- 
trator to an intestate. But when there is as- 
signee by deed, the assignee in law is not al- 
lowed. 
It is most commonly applied to those cre- 
ditors of a bankrupt who are appointed by 
the rest to manage for them, and conse- 
quently have the bankrupt’s estate assigned 
over to them. 
ASSIGNING, in a special sense, is used 
to set forth and point at, as to assign an er- 
ror, to assign false judgment, to assign waste ; 
in which cases it must be shewn wherein the 
error is committed, where and how the judg- 
ment is unjust, and where the waste is com- 
mitted. 
ASSIGNMENT, in law, differs from a 
lease in this, that by a lease a man grants an 
interest less than his own ; in assignment he 
grants the whole property. 2 Black. 326. 
ASSIMILATION, in physics, is that mo- 
tion by which bodies convert other bodies 
related to them, or at least such as are pre- 
pared to be converted, into their own sub- 
stance and nature. 
ASSISE, in old law books, is defined to be 
an assembly of knights and other substantial 
men, with the justice, in a certain place, and 
at a certain time : but the word in its present 
acceptation is used for the court, place, or time 
when and where the writs and processes, whe- 
ther civil or criminal, are decided by judges and 
jury. In this signification, assise is either gene- 
ral,’ when judges make their respective circuits, 
with commission to take all assise; or special, 
where a commission is granted to particular 
persons for taking an assise upon one or two 
disseisins only. By Magna Charta, justices 
shall be sent* through every county, once a 
year, who, with the knights of the several 
shires, shall take assise of novel disseisin: and as 
to the general assise, all the counties of Eng- 
land are divided into six circuits, and two 
judges are assigned by the king’s commission 
A S S 
to every circuit, who now hold the assises twice 
a year, in every county, except Middlesex, 
where the courts of record sit, and the counties 
palatine. These judges have live several com- 
missions: 1. Of oyer and terminer, by which 
they are empowered to try treasons, felonies, 
eke. 2. Of gaol-delivery, which empowers 
them to try every prisoner in gaol, for what- 
ever offence he be committed. 3. Of assise, 
which gives them power to do right upon writs 
brought by persons wrongfully thrust out of 
their lands and possessions. 4. Of nisi prius, 
by which civil causes come to issue in the 
courts above, arc tried in the vacation by a 
jury of twelve men, in the county where the 
cause of action arises. 5. A commission of 
the peace in every county of the circuit : and 
all justices of peace of the county and sheriffs 
are to attend upon the judges, otherwise they 
shall be fined. 
Assise is used iu several other significa- 
tions ; as, 1. for a jury, where assises of novel 
disseisin are tried, anti the pannels of assise 
shall be arraigned. See the next article. 
2. For a writ for recovery of the posses- 
sion of things immoveable, of which a per- 
son and his ancestors have been disseised. 
3. For an ordinance or statute, as the assise 
of the forest, a statute concerning orders to 
be observed in the king’s forest. 4. For a 
quantity of wheat, bread. Sec. prescribed by 
a statute ; as we say, when wheat is of such a 
price, bread shall be of such an assise. 
Assise of novel disseisin is a writ that lies 
where a tenant in fee simple, fee tail, or 
for term of life, is put out and disseised of his 
lands, tenements, rents, common of pasture, 
common way, &c. A writ of assise may some- 
times be had by a person, when he cannot 
have trespass vi <y armis ; as where a lord 
enters on lands, and distrains his tenant so 
often, when nothing is due, that the tenant is 
disturbed in manuring his lands; in such case 
he may have assise de souvent fois distress ; 
but he cannot bring trespass against his 
lord. 
Assise of mart d' ancestor is a writ which 
lies where a person’s father, mother, brother, 
Sec. died seised oflandsand tenements in fee, 
and, after either of their deaths, a stranger 
abateth. 
Assise of utrum lies for a parson against 
a layman, or a layman against a parson, for 
lands or tenements doubtful whether they are 
lay-fee or free-alms. 
’ASSOCIATION of ideas is where two or 
more ideas»constantly and immediately fol- 
low one another, so that the one shall almost 
infallibly produce the other, whether there 
is any natural relation between them, or 
not. 
Association, in law, is a writ or patent 
sent by the king, either of his own motion, pl- 
at the suit of the plaintiff, to the judges of as- 
sise, to have others associated to them, to take 
the assise, &c. 
ASSONIA, in botany, a genus of the class 
and order monadelphia dodecandria. The 
essential character is, calyx double, outer 
one-leaved or three-leaved, inner one-leaved ; 
corolla five-petalled, no tube affixed to the 
pitcher of stamens ; filament connected in 
form of a pitcher, with petal-shaped straps 
between ; style one or five ; capsule five- 
celled ; seeds not winged. 
There are eleven species, the most remark- 
able of which is the A. populnea, a micdle- 
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shed tree, growing in the isle of Bourbon, and 
resembling the hibiscus populneus. The 
wood is sweet-scented, and blue in the mid- 
dle. 
ASSUMPSIT, a voluntary or verbal pro- 
mise, whereby a person assumes, or takes upon 
him, to perform or pay any thing lo another. 
Ail assumpsits must be for some valuable con- 
sideration ; and they are either express or 
implied. Express is by direct agreement 
either by word or note without seal. Implied : 
when any person becomes legally indebted 
to another for' goods sold, the law implies a 
promise, that he will pay his debt ; and if he 
does not pay it, the writ indebitatus assumpsit 
lies against him ; and will lie for goods sold 
and delivered to a stranger, or third person,, 
at the request of the defendant: but the price j 
agreed on must be proved, otherwise that 
action does not lie. 
ASSUMPTIVE arms, in heraldry, are 
such as a person has a right to assume, w bli- 
the approbation of his sovereign, and of the-, 
heralds. 
ASSURANCE, a contract by which the 
assurer undertakes, in consideration of a 
premium equivalent to the hazard run, ta- 
indemnify the person assured against certain. . 
perils or losses, or against some particular ■ 
event. The practice of entering into such i 
engagements, which originated about thei 
year 1182, and lias been greatly extended! 
as its utility has become more understood, 
gives great security to the fortunes of pri-, 
vate people, by dividing among many that > 
loss which would ruin an individual. 
The instrument by which this contract of 
indemnity is effected between the assurer 
and the assured is called a policy ; and is not, 
like most contracts, signed by both parties, 
but only by the assurer, who on that ac-j 
count, it is supposed, is denominated an un- 
derwriter. 
Assurances may be distinguished into ma- 
rine assurances, assurances upon lives, and ,; 
assurances against fire. 
Marine assurance is an indemnity against: 
those perils (o which ships and goods are ex- 
posed in the course of their voyage from one 
place to another, whether arising from the 
dangers of the seas, fire, capture by enemies 
or pirates, detention by the government of 
any country, or from any fraudulent act of - 
the master or mariners, such as running 
away with the ship, carrying her a course; 
different from their orders, sinking her, de- 
serting her, or embezzling the cargo. As- 
surances of this kind being of peculiar im- 
portanceto the commercial interests of this 
country, and many frauds having been com- 
mitted in this business by persons receiving 
premiums who were totally unable to fulfil 
their engagements, an act of parliament was 
passed in the reign of George I., establishing - 
two corporations with adequate capitals for 
carrying on this business, and prohibiting 
any other society or partnership whatsoever 
from making marine assurances or lending 
money on bottomry. The two companies 
are, the Royal Exchange Assurance and the 
LondonAssurance, who both engage very ex- 
tensively in this species of assurance ; but as: 
from their superior. responsibility they gene- 
rally require a somewhat higher premium than , 
private underwriters, many persons prefer 
effecting their assurances with the latter; 
this business, in London,, is carried on chiefly - 
