Page 17 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 14 - 18

verbal shows it was the “Titanic” he was in communication with at 7.50, and that he had exchanged what he calls Trs. with the “Titanic.” (To the Witness.) Now have you also got another document which shows a record of the “Mesaba” sending messages to the east-bound ships? - Yes, I have here. 16238. (The Solicitor-General.) That can be contrasted with it, your Lordship sees. Just hand it up to my Lord and he will see the difference. (The document was handed to the Commissioner.) Is it in the same form as far as paper goes? - Yes, but it is not in red ink. No, it is not in red ink; and if your Lordship will contrast the entry of “time by the clock” and the entry of “office sent to,” you will see that the red ink one which contains the record, “Reply received thanks,” is the “Titanic,” and the other one is for different times and different addresses. That is how the document stands. The Commissioner: The person who wrote these intended this “Reply received, thanks” to apply to the “Titanic.” The Solicitor-General: I submit that that is the fair inference from the document. The Commissioner: Oh, yes. The Solicitor-General: Now would your Lordship be kind enough to let me see that. The Commissioner: Yes (The same was handed to the Solicitor-General). 16239. (The Solicitor-General.) This second document, the last one, in the space for “Office sent to,” gives a series of initials in pencil? - Yes. 16240. Are those the ships that were then east-bound? - Yes. 16241. I think you have checked some of them to see? - Yes; we have not found 10; he mentions 10. He says about 10 in the footnote. 16242. I think if you listen you will see that I am not asking about the document which says about 10, I am talking about the last document you handed up, which contains in the space “Office sent to” some initials. Are those the initials of east-bound ships? - Those are. 16243. (The Commissioner.) Five of them? - Yes. 16244. (The Solicitor-General.) And opposite each is there in the next column an entry of the time? - Yes. The Solicitor-General: Ranging from something like 2 o’clock to later in the afternoon, I think, my Lord. The Commissioner: 2.32 to 9.35. 16245. (The Solicitor-General - To the Witness.) Now the 7.50, which is the time he has entered for the “Titanic,” is in between those times, you see? - Yes. 16246. I think you have checked by the procès-verbal of the “Mesaba,” and found in different places in the procès-verbal messages sent to east-bound ships recorded? - Yes. The Solicitor-General: That is as it stands on the documents, my Lord. Sir Robert Finlay: May I see that? 16247. (The Commissioner.) Yes (The same is handed.) I am not sure how this operation takes place. When you send a message to a ship, by what process do you secure the delivery of the message to the ship you are delivering the message to? You do not know where the ship is? - You exchange time rushes. Each station knows what the other has for it, and you cannot practically exchange a time rush until you are within speaking-range of each other. 16248. I see opposite to each one of those five ships that were eastward bound the time recorded? - Yes. 16249. Is that the time when the time rushes were exchanged between the “Mesaba’ and that particular ship? - The time rushes are always the first, so that the ice report must have been subsequent. 16250. But it would be very soon? - Very soon almost immediately after. 16251. Now I understand it. You get into communication or you find that you are in