32 Haw. 118 | Haw. | 1931
The third judge of the circuit court of the first judicial circuit has reserved to this court the following question: "Is a citizen of the Philippine Islands, who has continuously and at all times resided in the Philippine Islands, a non-resident alien within the meaning of section 3611, Revised Laws of Hawaii 1925?"
The facts out of which the question arose are as follows: On the 21st day of November, 1929, the industrial accident board of the City and County of Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, awarded compensation to Mrs. Domingo Galang Zarate, on behalf of herself and her three minor children. On December 16 an appeal was taken from this award to the circuit court of the first judicial circuit and thereupon the question reserved to this court was presented to the trial court for decision.
The section of the Workmen's Compensation Act referred to in the question provides as follows: "An alien *119 shall not be considered a dependent within the meaning of this chapter unless actually residing within the United States."
It is contended by the appellant that the word "alien," as used in this section, was intended by the legislature to be used in the sense of "non-citizen" and that the section should be construed as though it read, "No one who is not a citizen of the United States shall be considered a dependent within the meaning of this Act unless actually residing within the United States." There is nowhere in the Workmen's Compensation Act a definition of "alien" nor is there anything in the quoted section of that Act which requires that the meaning we are asked by the defendant to place upon it should be adopted. Under these circumstances we must assume that the legislature intended to use the term in its established legal sense and not in a special or restricted sense.
In Gonzales v. Williams,
In Toyota v. United States,
It is evident that the court in the Gonzales case decided that Porto Ricans were not aliens because they owed allegiance to no other country than the United States and that the court for the same reason reached a similar conclusion regarding Filipinos in the Toyota case. There is nothing in the statute under consideration to indicate that the legislature intended that any other test should be applied in determining who are aliens.
The reserved question is answered in the negative.