The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1868-10-31
The LnLor Contracts.

To the Editor of Tie Pacific Commercial AdUertiser q:
At the last session of the Legislature an amend
ment to the Master and Servant Act was passed, to
the effect that all contracts for service between for
eigners and natives should be made out and signed
in both native and English. The amendment farther
directed the Minister of the Interior to issue a form,
which Act became n law at the date of its passage by
the Legislature in June, or after signature by His
Majesty. Nothing farther is heard from said amend
ment until August, when we find under the head of
"By Authority in the Government Gazette, a
certain form Of contract for service, which l consider
rs a fulhllment Of the obligation resting on the Min
lister of the Interior by the wording of the law as
passed in June.
Now the question l wish to ask is this. The Min
lister of the Interior having allowed some two months
TO elapse before issuing a form, how are contracts for
service effected which were made out in the old way
Zone language) after the passage of the law, and
previous to the issuing of the form by the Minister
of the Interior? l have no doubt but that many of
the plantations have shipped laborers during this
time under their old agreements, simply from the
fact that no form had been issued as directed by the
amendment itself
This matter has already been agitated in our sec
ton, and n waif has already came from one Of our
Courts to the effect that he, the Judge, would Ignore
any contracts for labor which were not in accordance
with the amendment,-his argument being that
parties were not obliged to wait for the Minister of
Interiors form. How would it have been had pre-
scented to the Court n form in English made out ac-
cording to my own views. Would he not have imme-
diately said, this is good for nothing, as it is not a
form issued by the Minister of the Interior which the
law directs.
Again, this law went into effect after its signature
by His Majesty. How are remote sections of the group
effected, when the most direct communication from
the capital takes at least two weeks?
No one is bound to accept the form as issued by
. the powers that be-; still | argue that until such
form is issued by the one authorized so to do, that
the old forms are good
If possible, please show some light OH the matter,
and oblige Il BACK WooDsMAN-
REMARKs.-Ihe subject referred to by our cor
respondent involves some points, which, if called
in question, could only be decided by the Courts,
as our laws do not cover the case, and the law
and usage of other countries alone could decide
the questions that would be raised.
No law is considered binding until it is officially
published from that date its provisions are in
force, as far only as it has been promulgated. If
not published on Hawaii till thirty days after its
publication in Honolulu, it would be reasonable
to infer that its provisions were not in force there
until known, although it had been in force in
Honolulu a month earlier.
In the case of a conditional enactment, like the
one referred TO. where the provisions OF n law
depend in part on the action of an executive Off
Ger, it could hardly be possible that any Judge
would decide that the law had been violated until
after the executive officer had complied with the
duty assigned to him, and his official action was
known throughout the country. In this case,
however. as the law does not make it binding on
any master to use the form provided by the exc
cutive officer, a Court might decide that the re-
naming provisions of the law must be complied
with, from the date that it was promulgated in