Page 62 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 14 - 18

17064. And does that show that you were then first getting into communication with the “Titanic”? - Exactly, the first communication. 17065. What is the meaning of your entry following that “one S message received.” What is an S message? - An S is an ordinary public message from the public on the “Titanic’ - from a passenger on the “Titanic.” 17066. You mean a member of the public? - Yes, from a passenger on the “Titanic” to one on ours. The Solicitor-General: I have it here; it is merely a private message from one passenger to another. The Commissioner: You need not trouble about that. 17067. (The Solicitor-General.) Your next entry is “5.30 p.m. signals exchanged with the ‘Titanic’ at frequent intervals until 9.45 p.m.” Would those signals be merely to keep in touch or would they involve the sending of private messages? - Merely to keep in touch. 17068. I see you record at 10 “Good night” to the “Mount Temple” and then at 11.20 p.m. you got your first entry about the disaster? - Yes, that is what I stated in New York, but I found since it was 10.35 I got the first signals. 17069. It was earlier than that, was it? - Yes. The Commissioner: Just have that explained. 17070. (The Solicitor-General.) I will. (To the Witness.) Will you tell us how you know that? - By a chit of paper which I scribbled out at the time. Sir Robert Finlay: I understood this was a copy of the procès-verbal? The Commissioner: Yes. The Solicitor-General: I do not think Sir Robert perhaps heard what I did interpose to explain, and what the witness said that as soon as the disaster happened, and from that time forward he did not keep his procès-verbal and therefore it had been reconstituted by the Marconi Company from that point. The Commissioner: Oh, but I understood that up to and inclusive of this message which you are reading it was part of the procès-verbal, but after they first heard of the disaster then the procès-verbal stops. 17071. (The Solicitor-General - To the Witness.) How is it? - Right up to the time of the disaster, right up to the time I heard the first signal from them the procès-verbal was never touched. 17072. (The Commissioner.) Did you enter in that procès-verbal the important telegram telling you of the calamity? - No, my Lord, I did not. 17073. You did not? - No. 17074. (The Solicitor-General.) You have the document before you? - Yes. The Solicitor-General: Let me see it. (The same was handed.) The Commissioner: Then the procès-verbal is of no value. Sir Robert Finlay: This is merely from recollection afterwards. 17075. (The Commissioner - To the Witness.) Your procès-verbal does not relate at all to the disaster? - No. The Solicitor-General: If you will look, you will see the last two entries in ordinary writing are the entries of 5.30 p.m. and 10 p.m.; the very last entry is 10 p.m. and then in a different writing and with a different pencil there has been something added “‘Titanic’ disaster; apparently too busy to keep entries,” or something of that sort. The Commissioner: What does P.V. mean? The Solicitor-General: P.V. is procès-verbal. The Commissioner: “Apparently too busy to keep procès-verbal going.” Will you allow me to ask him a question, or would you rather put it yourself?