Page 84 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 1 - 5

were. Some were smaller than others. The Commissioner: How is that? The Attorney-General: According to what we make out, they are all the same size except, of course, the two emergency boats. I asked him about the lifeboats. We make out that they are all the same as I understand it. The fourteen boats would all be the same. The Commissioner: All of them are marked on the plan as 30 feet? The Attorney-General: Yes, that is so. The Commissioner: They would all have the same beam? Sir Robert Finlay: I am told they are all the same size except the emergency boat. 1117. (The Attorney-General.) That is just what I stated. (To the Witness.) The lifeboats, I suppose, were bigger than the two emergency boats? - Oh, yes, Sir. The Commissioner: Beauchamp said that on board his boat there were 60 or 70 persons. The Attorney-General: He did. The Commissioner: And I understand this Witness says there were 42 in his boat. The Attorney-General: Yes, we will get that from some other Witness. We can only get as far as that from this one. According to Scarrott’s evidence there were about 60 in his boat all told. In this one we have only got 42. The Commissioner: Then I took a wrong note of it. 1117a. (The Attorney-General.) I think your Lordship will find that that is right - just about 60. (To the Witness.) According to what we have heard these lifeboats were all about the same size. If you only had 42 on board all told, there was room for something like 20 more. Did you notice that at all? - Well, I do not think she would have held 20 more, Sir. That was nothing to do with me. That was the officer’s orders. 1118. Who gave orders for her to be pushed off? - The Second Officer, Mr. Lightoller, ordered the boat to be lowered away. 1119. Where was he when he gave that order? - Right abreast of the boat, Sir. 1120. On deck? - Yes, on the promenade deck. 1121. Then she was lowered away? - Yes. 1122. You were in her? - Yes, Sir. 1123. Who was in charge of the boat? - I was. 1124. Were there any other passengers on the deck so far as you could see when you got the order to lower away - when the order was given to lower away? - Yes, there were some passengers there. 1125. Women? - I think there were one or two women, Sir, besides gentlemen as well. They felt half inclined - they did not care about getting into the boat. 1126. Who felt half inclined? - Why, the passengers, Sir. 1127. They did not like getting into the boat? - They did not like to get into the small boat - no. 1128. Who is “they” that you are speaking of? - Why, the passengers that were standing there on the deck that I heard talking. 1129. Do you know how you came to have the one man passenger and a boy in the boat? - I do not know how the man passenger got in the boat at all, Sir - nor the boy. 1130. You do not know how they got in? - No, Sir. 1131. You did not see them get in? - No, Sir. 1132. Did you see they were in when the boat was lowered? - Just after we got away from the ship I did. 1133. But not till then? - No. 1134. As I understand it, when you saw the boat lowered you thought there were only ladies in the boat and yourself and another seaman. Is that right? - Yes, Sir. 1135. Who was the other seaman? - Seaman Fleet.