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228 Asser Asshur

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

petition to the States General (March 26, 1796), praying for their emancipation. This step was vigorously opposed by Daniel Cohen d'Azevedo, rabbi of the Portuguese, as well as by Jacob Moses b. Saul L5wenstarnm, rabbi of the Ashkenazim, who were afraid that political emancipation would result in the disintegration of Judaism. As a result, the National Assembly passed a law conferring on them citizens' rights. In the struggle that

het Fransche en Nederlandsche Burgerlijk Wetboek." The last, his largest work, was published after his death by his son Louis Asser and his nephew C. D. Asser. Bibliography: Algemeene Konxt en Lcttcrhnde, xli., xlii., xllii.

the Orthodox party, led by the rabbis, and the more Comprogressive generation of the commumunity. nity, Asser took a prominent part and when the differences led finally to the formation of a new congregation, Adat Jesurun, lie

became a leading member. In 1807 Asser was one of

three delegates sent

by

new congregation to the Sanhedrin in Paris. On his return home he was commissioned by Napo-

the

leon to write a report of the condition and wishes of the Jews in Amsterdam, having regard to the possibility of the reunion of the two congregations. On the recommendations contained in this report, a central consistory for the Jews in Holland was authorized by royal decree Dec. 17, 1808. In the same year Asser was appointed director of the second division of the Ministry of Public WorIn Public ship, and in the following year, after Office. the abrogation of that office, he became chief of the bureau in the Board of Accounts. In 1811 Asser was made justice of the peace in the first district of Amsterdam, and soon became an authority in matters relating to the office. He translated from the French J. J. Barbedette Chermelais' work, "Traite des Attributions des Juges de Paix " (2 vols., 1812), which exerted great influence in Holland. In the mean time he had become a member of the consistory of Amsterdam and after Holland had regained her independence (1813), he was appointed a member of the commission to draft regulations for

the Jewish community. For twenty-one years Asser held the post of referendary of the first class in the Department of Justice at

The Hague,

and

to

which he was appointed

for five years before his death he

in 1815

performed the

duties of secretary to the Department of Justice. The decoration of the Order of the Netherlands Lion was conferred upon him. His wife was Rose Levin, sister of the well-known Rahel Varnhagen von Ense. For the latter he wrote "Precis Historique sur l'Etat des Israelites du Royaume des Pays-Bas," 1827, a historical review of the condition of the Jews His in Holland, not yet published. Asser Works. was also the author of the following works " Verhandeling over de Verantwoordeli jkheid der Ministers, volgens het Nederlandsche Strafregt," The Hague, 1828, an anonymous treatise on the responsibilities of ministers according to Dutch con:

stitutional law;

Brussels, bij

het

1828;

"Apologie de la Peine de Mort," "Verhandeling over de vraag, of

Wetboek van

Strafregt tegen het snoeijen

van geldmunten straf is bepaald?" The Hague, 1836, a treatise on the penalty attached to the clipping of coin; and "Vergelijkend overzigt tusschen

1836, Nos.

'sQravcnhaatjurhe Studs en Besidentie Al-

Enci/ldopiidie, 1884, s.v.

in Jewish





1838; Carmoly, in Revue Oriental/:, iii. 413 et seq. ; Jost's Annalen, 1839; Koenen, Gcxchicdcnis der Joden in Nederland, p. 383; Sluys and Hooflen, Geschiedenis der Joden, iii. 531 et sea., 545; Ciratz, Gcscl). der Jiidcn, xi. 307 et seq.; A. J. van der Aa. Bingraphish irnnrdcuhnek der Nederlmiclen, pp. 129-130; Winkler Prins, Ge'tllustreerde

manalu

now began between

Active

228

J.

s.

ASSER, CAREL:

Vn.

Dutch

jurist and scholar; 1843; died at Leyden, He was a son of Louis Asser, judge Dec. 10, 1898. of the district court at The Hague, and grandson of Carel Asser, referendary in the Department of JusHe received his education at tice at The Hague. the gymnasium in his native city, and at the University of Leyden, obtaining a doctor's degree at the age of twenty-three. Appointed judge of the district court of The Hague in 1878, he retained the position until 1892, when he was made professor The estiof civil law at the University of Leyden. mation in which he was held by the Dutch government is shown by the fact that he was appointed on a commission to investigate the need for the revision of the national statutes and to prepare a plan for Asser married a Christian, but he rethis purpose. mained in touch with the Jewish community and continued to display an interest in his coreligionists. Among Asser's works are: His doctor's dissertation, "De Telegraphie en hare regtsgevolgen," 1866 (awarded a gold medal by the Groningen University); " AVetenschap en Wetgeving," 1892; and "Handleiding tot de beoefening van het Nederlandsch Burgerlijk Recht," an unfinished work on civil law. He also contributed to periodicals many Asser was not technical articles of legal interest. only known as a scholar and writer, but also as a musician. Bibliography: Students' Almcmali, Levden, 1900.

born at The Hague, June

1,

J.

s.

ASSER, MOSES SALOMON: born in Amsterdam Aug., 1754;

Dutch

Vk. jurist;

died there Nov.

Although originally intended for trade, he took up the study of commercial law and so successful was he in his new career, that on becoming

4,

1826.



procurator in Amsterdam he gained the reputation In of being one of the best lawyers in Holland. 1798 he was appointed member of the legislative commission which met in Amsterdam for the purpose of readjusting the laws of Holland to the new conditions arising from the change of the United Provinces into the Batavian Republic, under the protectorate of France. In 1808, when Napoleon insisted upon the adoption of his code throughout his dependencies, Asser, together with Johannes van der Linden and Arnoldus van Gennep, was commissioned by King Louis Bonaparte to draft a commercial code as a part of the uniform system of laws projected for the kingdom. Soon after the Restoration Asser took an active part in the commission of 1814 and his work ultimately formed the basis of the commercial code of In 1838, the greater part of which is still in force.