The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1882-11-15
Azluaiiiair Gazette,
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER Is, 1852.
supreae Court Of the Hawaiian Isiandsi
In Bauco.- October Term, 1852.
Areusr DnEIEn vs. KUAA.

- @~~---~0e
Aususr DREIER VS.. KuAA.
Before Judd, C. J., McCuEy and Austin, J. =.
Opinion orths Court By NeeHlly, j.
By appeal of the plaintiff from the decision
Of the Local Circuit Justice Of the 18th Judic-
ial Circuit.
contract, which is here set forth in full as
follows
LApoR CoSrRAcr. OLELo AELIxE.
This agreement made and entered into, this
25th day of February, A. D. 1881, by and
between August DreieT, on the Island OF h anai,
party Of the first pait, md Kuaa, party OF the
second part, witnessetli
/. That the said party Of the second part
promises to perform such labor for August
Dreier, on the Island Of Kauai, as the said
party Of the first part shall direct, and that
be will faithfully and punctually perform the
same as becomes a good workman, and that ne
will obey all lawful commands OF the said
party of the first part, his agent or oyerseer,
during the term OF thirty-six months, each
month to consist of twenty-four working days
of ten hours each.
II. The said party of the first part will well
and truly pay or cause to be PAID unto the
said party Of the second part, at the end Of
each month during which this contract shall
remain in force, compensation or wages at the
rate Of Sl4 fourteen dollars for each month, if
said party of the second part shall well and
truly perform his labor as aforesaid, and to
provide him with -.
III. The said party Of the second part
agrees to work at night and rest during the
day, if directed to do SO by the said party Of
the first part.
". The party of the second part agrees to
work at the rate of twelve hours per day at all
work connected with the sugar mill and boil
ing house; and all other labor to be at the
rate of ten hours per day.
V. The said party Of the second part
hereby acknowledges the receipt of $4,000
as advance on the within contract.
Done in duplicate at Koloa the
day first above written, and that
each party is provided with a
copy.
(Sigued) AUGUsT DREIER,
KuAA.
The defendant now claims that the act of
the plaintiff in assigning his labor to third
person, under which assignment he served for
nine months was such violation Of the terms
Of their contract that he should now be dis
charged from his obligations Of service, as
provided by Sec. 1923 Of the Civil Code, which
reads as follows:-
Section 1923. If any master shall be guilty
Of any cruelty, misusage, or violation Of any
Of the terms Of the contract, towards any per-
son bound to service either under the l4lTth
or l4lsth sections, such person may make
complaint to any district or police justice, who
-.
into, hear and determine the complaint; and if
the complaint shall be sustained, such person
shall be discharged from all obligations of
service, and the master shall be fined in 4 sum
not less than FIVE, nor more than one hundred
be imprisoned at hard labor until the same is
paid.
1t is not claimed that the terms Of the con-
tract on the employers part, in respect TO
wages and lodging have not been kept or that
he has been subject to any cruelty or mis-
usage He labored reluctantly" be says,
yet voluntarily for the assigns of the plaintiff,
and received his stipulated wages, until he
declined to serve longer and was sustained by
the opinion of this Court as above referred to.
The plaintiff thereupon required the defendant
to return to his service at "Eleele " on the
Is
serve the remainder Of his contract time, but
the defendant has refused and absents himself
from the place, claiming as above a legal
violation of the contract which should dissolve
it, and so the Court below held.
We held in the former case that it was
without and beyond the terms OF the contract
in these words. We cannot direct the de-
PENDANT 10 labor on the Koloa plantation, for
Ia. l.. I. =.
is no privity between these laborers and the
the defendant cannot be compelled to work on
this plantation.
The plaintiff under a mistaken view of the
scope Of the contract had required that the
defendant should do what he was not bound to
do, and the defendant under like mistake
had for some time complied with the re-
qusition. There was in this no violation Of
the terms of the contract.
The language above cited from the decision
in the former case implies the continued
Of the contract within its terms,
namely to labor for August Dreier on the
Island Of Kauai, only holding that the labor
on the Koloa plantation was not labor for
August Dreier.
1t is to be observed here that the statute
requires that when the magistrate finds that
the complaint of the servant under Sec 1923 is
sustained and discharges the servant from his
contract, be shall fine the master from five to
one hundred dollars with penalty of impris-
in default of payment. No penalty
was imposed by the Court below. As no
question was made of the judgment being for
this reason defective we need not consider
on that ground alone it might be
vitiated, but will remark that the necessity Of
imposing this penalty and the words guilty"
" cruelty" and misusage" in the context,
are an important commentary upon the con-
struction to be placed on the phrase violation
Of any of the terms Of the contract" when
action is brought to cancel the contract.
The order Of the Court is that the defendant
return to the plaintiffs service for the re-
Of his contract time, the time during
which he labored on the Koloa plantation
being counted on the contract.
And the Ike order is made in the cases of
and Kaaleiki, defendants in
similar cases, submitted at the same time.
s. r Dole for the nlainfifs