Chew Heong v. United States

Citations

• 112 U.S. 536
• 5 S. Ct. 255
• 28 L. Ed. 770
• 1884 U.S. LEXIS 1908

Syllabus

<p>The fourth section of the act of Congress, approved May 6,1882, ch. 126, as amended by the act of July 5, 1884, ch. 120, prescribing the certificate which shall be produced by a Chinese laborer as the “only evidence permissible to establish his right of re-entry” into the United States, is not applicable to Chinese laborers who, residing in this country at the date of the .treaty of-November 17,1880, departed by sea before May 6, 1882, and remained out of the United States until after July 5,1884.</p> <p>The rule re-affirmed that repeals of statutes by implication are not favored, and are never admitted where the former can stand with the new act.</p> <p>Courts uniformly refuse to give to statutes a retrospective operation, whereby ■ ■ rights previously vested are injuriously affected, unless compelled to do so by language so clear and positive as to leave no room to doubt that such was the intention of the legislature.</p>