Page 109 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 10 -13

13344. And then they both disappeared? - Yes; they both disappeared and left the white light. 13345. (Mr. Butler Aspinall.) That does not do, you see. You saw a red light? - Yes. 13346. And you saw a white light? - Yes. 13347. Did you think at that time that these were the two lights of a steamer? - I did. 13348. (The Commissioner.) About 7 or 8 miles away? - Yes. 13349. (Mr. Butler Aspinall.) After some little interval of time both those lights disappeared according to you? - Yes. 13350. After they disappeared, when next did you see any lights? - It went away, and then I saw the white light about 10 or 15 minutes afterwards again in the same direction. 13351. I think you mean this, do you not, that you assumed that the white light you saw on the later occasion was the white light you had been seeing before? - Or it might have been a stern light. Examined by Mr. SCANLAN. 13352. What are the duties of a Quartermaster? - To take the wheel and attend to the officers as a stand-by man, and when you have got the last trick of the wheel to go aft on the poop and stand by there during the whole watch, and in case of an accident, if a passenger falls overboard or attempts to commit suicide, to throw a lifebelt or a lifebuoy, and warn them on the bridge at once. 13353. With regard to this lifeboat number 9, had it its proper equipment? - We had no lamp and we had no compass. 13354. Had you oil? - No, we had no oil. 13355. Had you a sea anchor? - We had a sea anchor. 13356. And balers? - We had two balers. 13357. Of those two things you are certain that she had neither a compass nor a lamp? - No. I made sure in the morning at daylight. 13358. You have had a good deal of experience of the clearing of boats before starting on a voyage? - Yes. 13359. I want to ask you this; is it the usual practice to have those accessories in the lifeboat before you commence the voyage? - In some ships. 13360. Does the Superintendent of the Board of Trade usually examine the lifeboats? - Yes. 13361. Does he see whether or not the necessary equipment is in the lifeboat or available for it? - Sometimes you are told off to go with him, and if he asks for a certain thing you have to lift it out and show it to him. 13362. Have you had experience of a shipwreck before? - Yes. 13363. Was that in 1898? - Yes. 13364. What was the ship that was wrecked - The “Viendam,” belonging to the Holland- America Line. 13365. You were at that time an A.B. on the “St. Louis”? - Yes. 13366. Did you from the “St. Louis” rescue the passengers on the “Viendam”? - Yes. 13367. I want you to tell my Lord what kind of sea you had at the time. - It had been a hard blow and we had a very heavy swell; first we were down underneath the bilge of the ship and then up, catching hold of the children and putting them into the boat. 13368. Will you explain to his Lordship how your lifeboats behaved in that sea? - They behaved splendidly. The Commissioner: I cannot sit here to inquire into the circumstances of another wreck which happened twelve or fourteen years ago. Mr. Scanlan: I have been contending that lifeboats can be successfully manned even in a heavy