Page 23 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 1 - 5

to which I desire to direct your Lordship’s attention, as I think the Court will probably consider these tracks during the course of this investigation, is to indicate that there are these more southerly tracks for the vessels in this period from the 15th January to the 14th August - obviously and undoubtedly, I think, because it is thought necessary on account of ice to make a more southerly track during that period. The Commissioner: Give me the tracks again. I have got the point marked by the blue cross. The Attorney-General: Now will your Lordship follow along a little way to the right from the blue cross, and there you have the beginning. You see there the point at which two tracks converge. The Commissioner: From Queenstown. The Attorney-General: Yes, one of them is from Queenstown, or from Ireland at any rate, and if you follow right along the higher of the two, you will find a few inches to the right, under the more northerly of these two tracks, the words “Mail Steamers outward, 15th January to 14th August.” The Commissioner: That is not the dotted line at all. The Attorney-General: No my Lord, the dotted line is the homeward track; we have nothing to do with that. That is the indicated track for these mail steamers during this period of January to August, and along which, as I understand, the “Titanic” travelled. Your Lordship sees that when she gets to a certain point, the converging point of these two curves, she then proceeds in almost a straight line along the track to New York, past the cross which I have indicated. So that your Lordship will see, as far as I follow it, she was substantially travelling along the track which is marked for her for this time of year upon this chart. If your Lordship will look just a little above the spot with the blue cross you will see there, “Field ice between March and July,” which is indicated upon the chart, and a little above that the great bank of Newfoundland. We may have to refer to the chart later, but for the moment I wanted your Lordship to appreciate that because of the evidence of the “Caronia.” The Commissioner: Where I see the words on the chart, “Icebergs, field ice,” I suppose that means to the north of the line? The Attorney-General: I understand so - that is, that the field of ice and icebergs have got so far south. The Commissioner: This chart says, “Field ice between March and July.” The Attorney-General: Yes; that is to the northward of the striking point. The Commissioner: But then further south there are these words, “Icebergs have been seen within this line.” That means north of this line? The Attorney-General: Yes, and there is another which your Lordship might note, as you have observed that, which follows immediately underneath it, “Icebergs have been seen within this line in April, May, and June.” The Commissioner: I saw that. That is a line to the southward again. The Attorney-General: Yes, and it continues to the eastward of the indicated line of field ice. Now, I told your Lordship that these two vessels in any event, from the material now before us, gave this notice. My Lord, as it is, in our view, of importance to remember that notice was given and received by the “Titanic” during the day of the 14th that there were icebergs within this latitude and longitude, I call further attention to this, that in the case of the “Caronia” the notice was given in the morning. The Commissioner: The morning of the 14th. The Attorney-General: The morning of Sunday, the 14th of April. At nine in the morning the message was sent to the “Titanic,” and at 9.44 of that same morning the “Titanic” acknowledged the message. I gave your Lordship the substance of the message, and it was that these bergs, growlers, and field ice were reported in 42° N., from 49° to 51° W. That was the message which