Alexander Asher
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Alexander Asher (27 January 1834 – 5 August 1905) was a Scottish politician and lawyer, who was elected as
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for the Elgin Burghs constituency from 1881 until his death in 1905. He was also
Solicitor General for Scotland , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Ruth Charteris QC.png , incumbent = Ruth Charteris KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , department = Crown Office and ...
on three occasions, and was
Dean of the Faculty of Advocates The Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, also known as the Dean of Faculty, is the head of the Faculty of Advocates, the independent body for advocates in Scotland. The Dean is elected by the whole membership. List of deans of Faculty * 1582 to ??? ...
.


Early life

Asher was born at
Inveravon Inveravon is sited on the east side of the River Avon, Falkirk, River Avon in Scotland. It was long considered to be the likely site for a Roman Fort on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. The fort is one of the most dubious on the wall although som ...
,
Banffshire Banffshire ; sco, Coontie o Banffshire; gd, Siorrachd Bhanbh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. It borders the Moray ...
, on 27 January 1834. He was the third son of William Asher the parish minister of Inveravon and his wife, Katherine Forbes Gordon. He was educated at Elgin AcademyG. W. T. Omond, 'Asher, Alexander (1834–1905)’, rev. H. C. G. Matthew, ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 5 May 2015
/ref> and both
King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Abredonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Universi ...
and
Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1582 ...
. He was awarded honorary degrees of LL.D. by Aberdeen and Edinburgh Universities in 1891.


Legal career

Asher was admitted to the Scottish Bar, the
Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constitu ...
in 1861. He was appointed an
Advocate Depute The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is the independent public prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by His Majesty's Lord Advocate, who under the S ...
in 1870. At this time he was living at 31 Heriot Row, a huge Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh's Second New town. In December 1881 he took silk, becoming a
Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...
(QC).'ASHER, Alexander', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 201
accessed 5 May 2015
/ref> In 1895, he was unanimously chosen as Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, following the resignation of
Charles Pearson Charles Pearson (4 October 1793 – 14 September 1862) was a British lawyer and politician. He was solicitor to the City of London, a reforming campaigner, and – briefly – Member of Parliament for Lambeth. He campaigned against corruption in ...
when he was appointed as
Lord Advocate , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Dorothy Bain QC.png , incumbent = Dorothy Bain KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , appointer = Monarch on the advice ...
.


Political career

At the general election of 1880 Asher was unsuccessful as Liberal candidate for the universities of Glasgow and Aberdeen. In 1881, following the resignation of
M. E. Grant Duff Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff (21 February 1829 – 12 January 1906), known as M. E. Grant Duff before 1887 and as Sir Mountstuart Grant Duff thereafter, was a Scottish politician, administrator and author. He served as the Under-Sec ...
from the Elgin Burghs constituency, Asher was chosen to represent the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
at the
1881 Elgin Burghs by-election Events January–March * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The C ...
. He was elected unopposed on 13 July. He immediately took office in the Liberal Government of William Gladstone as
Solicitor General for Scotland , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Ruth Charteris QC.png , incumbent = Ruth Charteris KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , department = Crown Office and ...
, serving until 1885. He was elected unopposed at the General Election 1885, at a by-election on 12 February 1886 after re-acceptance of office as Solicitor General for Scotland and again at the General Election 1886. His second spell as Solicitor General being cut short when the Liberals lost power. He stood again at the
1892 United Kingdom general election The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury again win the greatest number of seats, but no longer a majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won 80 more seats ...
, and was re-elected, this time opposed, by a majority of 541. After that election the Liberals were returned to power. Asher took office in that government, again as Solicitor General for Scotland, serving for another two years. Shortly prior to the 1895 general election, Asher was rumoured to be the Government nominee for the position of
Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...
. Although he was not chosen as the Speaker, he retained his seat with a margin of 1,853 votes against the tally of 1,161 won by C.O. Gordon. There were rumours that the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
might put forward a candidate to oppose Asher in the 1900 general election. But as of five days before the election, Asher remained unopposed. John Moffat stepped forward shortly before the election on behalf of the
Liberal Unionist Party The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...
, but was defeated by Asher, 1187 votes to 1744.


Death

Asher fell ill while in London as he was leaving the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
from an evening sitting in July 1905. He remained in bed for the following month, and following a worsening of his condition on 31 July, Asher became eager to return home to Scotland. He returned home to Edinburgh on 4 August where he died at his residence, Beechwood House in
Corstorphine Corstorphine (Scottish Gaelic: ''Crois Thoirfinn'') ( ) is an area of the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh. Formerly a separate village and parish to the west of Edinburgh, it is now a suburb of the city, having been formally incorporate ...
, the following day. He is buried in
Corstorphine Corstorphine (Scottish Gaelic: ''Crois Thoirfinn'') ( ) is an area of the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh. Formerly a separate village and parish to the west of Edinburgh, it is now a suburb of the city, having been formally incorporate ...
churchyard in the west of the city. The granite Celtic cross marking the grave lies to the west of the church. At the time of his death, the media described him as "one of the most eminent advocates from the Scottish bar". He left personal estates in the United Kingdom worth £39,378, of which £17,189 was in Scotland. He left no public bequests, but instead granted legacies to a number of his former servants.


Family

In 1870 he married Caroline Julia Gregan Craufurd, the daughter of Rev. C. H. Gregan Craufurd.


References


Further reading

*G. W. T. Omond, ''Asher, Alexander (1834–1905)'', rev. H. C. G. Matthew, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 18 Aug 2008


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asher, Alexander 1834 births 1905 deaths Solicitors General for Scotland Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Scottish Liberal Party MPs Alumni of the University of Edinburgh UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 Deans of the Faculty of Advocates People educated at Elgin Academy, Moray Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Scottish King's Counsel 19th-century King's Counsel