Page 40 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 14 - 18

got the latitude and longitude, and I should have called the “Californian” if she had not transmitted it at a very short period afterwards, and asked her for the latitude and longitude. 16678. The latitude and longitude you could not have carried in your head? - No. 16679. The only way of getting that message would have been to call the “Californian” afterwards to get the latitude and longitude? - Yes. 16680. You happened to hear it repeated, did you say, a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes afterwards? - Yes. 16681. Are you sure about the time? - Yes. 16682. Had you finished your accounts by that time? - No. 16683. Were you still on your accounts? - Yes. The Commissioner: What are those accounts? 16684. (Sir Robert Finlay.) What were you doing? - I was writing up an abstract of all the telegrams sent the day before. The Solicitor-General: That is the procès-verbal. 16685. (Sir Robert Finlay - To the Witness.) Is that what has been called the procès-verbal? - No, the telegrams; it gives the place where the telegram originated from and where it is going to, the station it is sent to; and the cost of the telegram, and the costs of the coast station, our charge, and everybody else’s charge, one by one. 16686. Then when you heard it repeated you recognised it as being the message which had been sent to your ship? - Yes. 16687. And wrote it down and took it on to the bridge? - Yes. 16688. Now with regard to the payment of service messages, that, I understand you to say, is covered by the arrangement between the steamship company and the Marconi Company? - We are told to make no charge for that. 16689. No charge is made for that. Then all such messages as were sent on to Cape Race, trade and private messages, would be an extra payment to the Marconi Company - to your company? - Messages that were sent on to Cape Race at the request of passengers would be paid messages; messages sent to Cape Race on behalf of the company would be free messages. 16690. What I said was, trade and private messages sent on to Cape Race would be paid for extra? - Yes. 16691. They would not be included in the service messages? - No. 16692. I think you used the expression - I am not sure whether his Lordship caught it - that there was a very large accumulation of those messages? - Yes. The Commissioner: That is the accumulation Phillips cleared off while the witness was asleep? 16693. (Sir Robert Finlay.) How long was Phillips occupied in clearing off those arrears of messages for Cape Race? He began at 8.30? - Yes. 16694. When did he finish? - I should estimate he could not have finished before nine anyhow from the batch he had, but I could not give you any idea as to when he did actually finish. 16695. I think you saw Phillips about 10 minutes before the collision, did you not? - No; after the collision. 16696. I want to ask you about what you said in America before the Committee of the Senate on this point. Were you asked this question, and did you give this answer: “Were you working with Cape Race, or was Phillips, to your knowledge, just before the collision with the iceberg? - (A.) As far as I recollect, Phillips had finished working with Cape Race 10 minutes before the collision with the iceberg. He made mention of the fact when I turned out.” Did you say that, and is that true? - I said that, but I could not remember what he said now. 16697. But did you say that? - I said that to Senator Smith, but I could not recollect now what Phillips told me after I had turned out. 16698. Was what you said to Senator Smith true? - Well, I was on oath at the time.