Page 69 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 14 - 18

17173. Now with regard to this document, which is headed: “Procès-verbal of the s.s ‘Carpathia’” - was this prepared by you? - No, this was not. 17174. Who prepared it? - It was prepared by our company from the procès-verbals of the various ships that were in the vicinity of the catastrophe at the time. Sir Robert Finlay: Will your Lordship look at the second paragraph of the covering letter of the 7th May, 1912? The Commissioner: Yes. Sir Robert Finlay: “We annex hereto a copy of the procès-verbal of the ‘Carpathia’ station, dating from the time at which this vessel first entered into communication with the ‘Titanic,’ which was some five hours previous to the collision, until the ‘Carpathia’ arrived in New York with the survivors some four days later.” This is not the procès-verbal of the “Carpathia” at all. The Witness: Well, it is in a sense; it is a reconstituted procès-verbal. The Commissioner: It is not anything of the kind. The first three entries on page 3 are, as I understand, taken verbatim from the procès-verbal of the “Carpathia”? - Exactly. The Commissioner: And none of the others are taken from the procès-verbal at all because there is no procès-verbal of the “Carpathia.” 17175. (Sir Robert Finlay - To the Witness.) That is so, is it not? - That is so. 17176. You had nothing to do with this letter saying that a copy of the procès-verbal of the “Carpathia” was annexed? - Nothing at all. The Commissioner: It is, as I understand, a compilation? The Attorney-General: That is what it is. The Commissioner: Of a number of messages recorded by a number of ships. The Attorney-General: We have had it put together. It is only right to say this. Your Lordship will understand this document of the 7th May was prepared in answer to a request made by us. As your Lordship knows, we have been working at very great pressure, and we asked the company to let us have, as soon as they could, some information with regard to the messages of the “Carpathia.” They prepared this, and in their office they call it a procès-verbal. It is stated later on that it is a log of further communications effected. There is no doubt about it. It is a compilation, as your Lordship says, from documents in their possession, every one of which can be produced and will be produced. The Commissioner: They can be; I hope they will not be. The Attorney-General: It may not be necessary. The Commissioner: It is immaterial. The Attorney-General: Except up to a certain point. Sir Robert Finlay: I understand you do not regard some of the times put there as right? The Witness: Not so much the times; it is the entries opposite the times I do not agree with. 17177. You said in regard to one entry it was false. Which entry was that? - It may not have been the time. 17178. Something about it was false. Which entry was that? - The one at 12.28. 17179. What is false about that “12.28 a.m. ‘Titanic’ calls ‘C.Q.D.’ His signals blurred and end abruptly.” What is false about that? - Well, he did not do that at all. His last message was, “Come as quickly as possible; our engine room is filling up to the boilers,” and his signals were perfectly right to the end of the message. 17180. Then this is purely imaginary? The Solicitor-General: Sir Robert, I do not think you could have been following. Sir Robert Finlay: I have been following only too well. The Solicitor-General: I do not know whether you were following too well, but if you were following you would have heard me read from the procès-verbal of the “Virginian” and explain to my Lord that this entry, 12.28 a.m., was copied from the “Virginian” procès-verbal, and was