Page 61 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 14 - 18

MR. W. D. HARBINSON (instructed by Mr. Farrell) appeared on behalf of the third-class passengers. (Admitted on application.) MR. ROBERTSON DUNLOP watched the proceedings on behalf of the owners and officers of the s.s. “Californian.” (Leyland Line). (Admitted on Application.) MR. H. E. DUKE, K. C., M. P., and MR. VAUGHAN WILIAMS (instructed by Messrs. A. F. and R. W. Tweedie) appeared as Counsel on behalf of Sir Cosmo and Lady Duff-Gordon. (Admitted on Application.) HAROLD THOMAS COTTAM, Sworn. Examined by the SOLICITOR-GENERAL. The Commissioner: Is this still upon the messages? The Solicitor-General: This is the Marconi operator on the “Carpathia.” The Commissioner: Oh, yes. 17053. (The Solicitor-General - To the Witness.) Were you the Marconi operator on board the s.s. “Carpathia”? - I was. 17054. Is that a steamer of the Cunard Line? - Yes. 17055. And on the “Carpathia” were you the only operator or had you someone with you? - I was the only one. 17056. I think you had taken up your duties on the “Carpathia” last February had you not? - th Yes, about February 10 or 11th, I cannot remember when. 17057. And had been doing the work as a Marconi operator on it from that time up to April the 14th or 15th? - Yes. 17058. Which way was she bound at the time you heard of the accident? - She was bound east from New York to Gibraltar. The Solicitor-General: We have been supplied by the Marconi Company with a print showing the procès-verbal of this gentleman’s communications with the “Titanic.” They are arranged in order of time and it is convenient to have them in that form. It is the same document that I handed up yesterday, the letter of the 7th May. The Commissioner: I have it. 17059. (The Solicitor-General.) I have some other copies and I will hand them up to your Lordship’s assessors. (Handing copies to the Court and to Witness.) (To the Witness.) Have you before you now the procès-verbal for the material time? - Yes. 17060. I see that procès-verbal of yours contains the entries in order of time up to the time when you heard of the disaster and then, I think, your procès-verbal breaks off? - Yes. 17061. I suppose, owing to the emergency you could not keep a regular record? - No. 17062. (The Solicitor-General.) Your Lordship appreciates that everything in this printed document which is after the time that the disaster is known to the “Carpathia” has been reconstituted since. It is not an actual copy of the document. (To the Witness.) Will you tell us when it was that your ship first got into touch with the “Titanic” on the 14th April. Will you look at page 3 of the print? - 5.10 p.m. 17063. That is New York time? - Yes. The Commissioner: One hour and 50 minutes later, ship’s time? The Solicitor-General: It varies from hour to hour, but substantially it is that. The Commissioner: It is about two hours. The Solicitor-General: Yes, one gets it substantially if one says 7 o’clock. (To the Witness.) Your entry is “Trs. with steamship ‘Titanic’ bound west.” We were told yesterday about the Trs, are they time rushes? - Yes.