Page 132 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 14 - 18

same night?” and the answer is “Yes.” That is how the evidence stands. The Commissioner: This man is what is called a leading fireman. The Attorney-General: Yes, my Lord. He was a very important witness. He was a leading stoker. The Commissioner: He describes himself as a leading stoker. The Attorney-General: Yes, my Lord, I think that is right. The Commissioner: I do not know what the “a” means. The Attorney-General: In one particular section, I think. The Commissioner: How many leading stokers are there? The Attorney-General: I could not say, my Lord, but I imagine it means a leading stoker in a particular section; probably that is what it means. Sir Robert Finlay: He was the leading stoker in No. 6 Boiler Room. The Commissioner: Can you tell me which is No. 6 Stokehold? The Attorney-General: Quite the foremost one of all, my Lord. We have had evidence about water going in there. The Commissioner: Quite the foremost? The Attorney-General: Yes, my Lord; it is described there as No. 6 Boiler Room. The Commissioner: Was that the stokehold where he was located? The Attorney-General: Yes, that was Barrett’s. The Commissioner: He was not located in this stokehold where the boilers were lit up? The Attorney-General: No, my Lord. Sir Robert Finlay : There is just one other question, Barrett was asked at 2358 on page 66: “With regard to the revolutions, did you keep the same revolutions all Sunday, so far as you know? - Yes.” The Attorney-General: Yes. The Commissioner: If, Mr. Attorney, they kept the same revolutions all the Sunday, which I understand means up to the time of the collision, then these three boilers had not begun to operate upon the engines, apparently? The Attorney-General: Probably not. Sir Robert Finlay: I understand that, even if the boilers were connected, it would not follow that there were more revolutions. That would depend upon what was done in the engine room. The Attorney-General: That would not follow. The Commissioner: I suppose, Sir Robert, the object of lighting up extra boilers is to get additional speed. Sir Robert Finlay: Not entirely, my Lord. The thing may work easier. Greater speed can be attained if they choose, but as a matter of fact the evidence is that they did not exceed the 75 revolutions, which the witness said they got on the Sunday, up to the time of the collision. The Commissioner: It leads me to think that Barrett, or whatever his name was, may be inaccurate about the time when these additional boilers were lit. Sir Robert Finlay: It may have been a little later, your Lordship means? The Commissioner: Yes. Sir Robert Finlay: It would probably take 12 hours before they could be connected. The Commissioner: You see, according to the evidence of Mr. Ismay, they would not want the additional speed until Monday or Tuesday. Sir Robert Finlay: Yes. The Commissioner: It is evident from Mr. Ismay’s evidence that they did want additional speed. If the weather was clear and the circumstances favourable, they would want additional speed on Monday and Tuesday. Sir Robert Finlay: Yes, and coal being the object at the time one would suppose they were not