The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1888-03-20
Opinion of Ia Court bp DOB, y

Court in Banco under the provisions
Of Sections 1140-1143 of the Civil
Code. The agreed statement of
facts is as follows:
lst. That the defendant is duly
incorporated corporation, ineorpora-
ted under the laws of the State Of
California, and doing business in the
Hawaiian Kingdom.
I'd. That on the 9th day of
June, \. D. 1884, the plaintiff, Joao
Rodriguez Fernandes entered into a
contract Of service with the Hawai-
ian Board of Immigration, one of
the plaintiffs hereto, and was duly
assigned by said Board, in accord
ance with said contract, TO labor for
the defendant, copy of which said
contract is hereto attached and
marked exhibit "A'' and has duly
performed said contract.
Sd. That a certain clause of said
contract reads as follows, viz: "That
ssthe party of the first part in
sshis above specified capacity binds
sshimself that the Board of Immi-
" gration shall pay monthly to the
"party of the second part, as long as
% this contract lasts, and at the end
4" of each 26 days service performed,
q sixteen dollars to bachelors of IS
"years and upwards and married
"men without children, married men
"wfth one child under u years, two
scholars per month more, and with
nmore than one child under that
age, four dollars per msnth more"
4th. That the plaintiff JoaO
Rodrigues Fernandes Is a married
man and since the date of said con-
tract, on the 22d day of March, 1885,
has had born TO him a child, who
now and ever since has been living
with and supported by him.
9Th. That plaintiffs claim that
under said contract the said lab
orer is entitled to 81 a month extra
from the said 22d day of March,
1885, until the termination of said
contract, on the ground that he is a
ssmarried man with one child under
II years. but that the defendant
refuses to pay the same, alleging as
reason for such refusal that said
clause in said contract relates only to
children born at the time of making
such contract, and not TO children
born thereafter.
BY THE COURT 1t was aScer-
tanned from an inspection of the
contract in question, Exhibit GA"
that the plaintiff Fernandes was
married before the contract was
made.
The contract referred to was exc
cuted in Funchal, and is expressed
in general terms which include all
classes of prospective laborers, and
may be said to be an agreement to
engage the laborer or furnish him
with employment upon his arrival at
the Hawaiian Islands, at such wages
as his peculiar circumstances entitle
him to, according to the terms of
such agreement.
After the arrival of the plaintiff
Fernandes at the Hawaiian Islands,
he was, in pursuance of the said
agreement, directed by the Board of
Immigration to work for the Haka-
lau Plantation Company-the de-
PENDANT in this case; and the said
company Joined with the Board of
immigration in the execution of GER
tain stipulations whereby it bound
itself to carry out the terms of the
said agreement as the employer of
the plaintiff Fernaudes. This un-
dertaking Is dated October Sd, 1884.
The child was born March 22d,
1885.
If the child had been born after
the execution of the original agree
Inent but before October Sd, 1884,
the date of the execution of the said
stipulations between the defendant
and the Board of immigration, it
might be well argued, that the
employer would have been bound
By the status of the laborer at
that date as to children, that
Is, that the covenant of the Board
of Immigration to pay omar
ried men with one child under ID
years, two dollars per month more"
etc, applies to the time OF the be-
ginning of the service, and that the
employer who is substituted for the
Board of immigration as the party
who receives the benefit of the labor
performed and pays for it, would be
liable for the extra pay on account
Of the children then living. But the
facts in this case show that this child
had not been born to the plaintiff
Fernandes either at the date of the
original agreement or of the agree
ment between the Board of Immi-
grafton and the defendant.
1t seems to rs that. withont ex-