Page 143 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 10 -13

say. 13999. They gave up their places? - Yes. 14000. When that boat was filled she contained some men and some women, of course? - No men that I know of. 14001. Ultimately she was filled with women, the collapsible boat? - Yes, I believe it was a new boat, where a couple of Phillipinos or Chinese got in; they stowed away under the thwarts or something. But for that there were no men except crew - except the men I ordered in. 14002. Do you know how many people got into that collapsible boat? - I could not say. 14003. Did you fill her? - Yes, I filled her as full as I could. 14004. When that boat was filled ready to go away, as far as you could ascertain were there any other women thereabouts? - None whatever. I am under the impression that I could have put more in that boat and could have put some men in, but I did not feel justified in giving an order for men to get into the boat, as it was the last boat as far as I knew leaving the ship, and I thought it better to get her into the water safely with the number she had in; or, in other words, I did not want the boat to be rushed. 14005. Were there men passengers about? - There were plenty of people about, no doubt men passengers. 14006. Was good order being maintained then? - Splendid. 14007. And was there any attempt to rush that boat at all? - None whatever, but the men commenced to climb in when they heard there were no more women. 14008. You have described that, and you say they got out again? - Yes; without that there was nothing. 14009. You used an expression just now that as far as you knew it was the last boat to leave the ship. Can you tell us, had you been able to observe during all this time what was happening to the boats on the starboard side? - No, no sign of the starboard side. You cannot see across. 14010. That means you cannot tell? - No, I know nothing about the starboard side. 14011. (The Commissioner.) Do you mean she was the last boat to leave the ship from the port side? - The last boat launched from the port side. There was still one on the top of the quarters, but she was not launched, as a matter of fact. 14012. That was another collapsible boat on the top of the officers’ quarters? - Yes. 14013. That is what you mean, that she was the last boat to leave from the port side? - Yes. 14014. (The Solicitor-General.) Let us exhaust that to be sure. You have spoken of four lifeboats that were in the forward part of the port side. What about the four other lifeboats which were on the afterpart of the port side - Nos. 10, 12, 14 and 16? - When I went forward to No. 4 boat all the lifeboats were away on the port side with the exception of that one. Whether the last boat that I went to was No. 8 or No. 10 I cannot say. But it is sufficient there was no further need for me on the afterend of that deck; I went forward to No. 4 and that was the last lifeboat. 14015. That means that Nos. 10, 12, 14 and 16 had gone? - Yes. 14016. Can you give us any help as to the order that the boats on the afterpart of the starboard side had gone in? - No, I know nothing whatever about it. 14017. Then your evidence as to the order of the boats is limited to the port side? - Only to the port side. 14018. You did order this collapsible boat on the port side to be lowered down from the davits? - Yes. 14019. Did you notice how far she had to drop to get to the water? - Yes. 14020. Now how far had she to drop? - Ten feet. 14021. Is that ten feet from the rail of the boat deck? - Ten feet from where that emergency boat is hanging now (pointing on the model). 14022. And there she met the water? - Yes.