Page 146 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 19 - 22

22137. Has your attention been called to the questions which are submitted to the Court? - Yes, it has. 22138. The second question is, “Before leaving Queenstown on or about 11th April last did the “Titanic” comply with the requirements of the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894-1906, and the Rules and Regulations made thereunder with regard to the safety and otherwise of ‘passenger steamers’ and ‘emigrant ships.’”? - Yes, she complied with both sets of requirements. 22139. That particular Question concerns your department? - Yes, that concerns my department. 22140. The particular Questions, I think, my Lord, which are affected by the Board of Trade evidence are 2, 4, 5, and 26, which is the recommendation. Your Lordship will remember it invites the Court to report upon Administration. Those I think are the Questions that are affected by this evidence. (To the Witness.) Now the “Titanic” had to comply with the law which is applicable both to passenger steamers and emigrant ships? - Quite so. 22141. Are those the most stringent provisions under the Merchant Shipping Act? - Those relating to emigrant ships are certainly the most stringent. 22142. Now, just before I go to that, there is one matter I want to call attention to. I want you to direct your attention to some figures which have been compiled with reference to the number of passengers who lost their lives over a period of years on voyages from the United Kingdom to America. The point of it is that the Court may have before it what did happen during the 20 years that preceded this accident, and it has a material bearing of course upon the recommendations that ought to have been made and that were made. Will you take first of all the 10 years from 1892 to 1901? The total number of passengers carried inward and outward between the United Kingdom and the United States and British North America on all ships - that is, both British and foreign ships, was over 3 ¼ millions? - That is so. 22143. And of those 3 ¼ million passengers was the great proportion carried in ships belonging to the United Kingdom? - By far the greater proportion. 22144. Will you give me the number of passengers who during that period of ten years lost their lives by casualties to vessels belonging to the United Kingdom? - In the years 1892 to 1901 the number of passengers lost by casualties to vessels at sea was - 22145. Belonging to the United Kingdom? - Belonging to the United Kingdom, was of passengers - west-bound 66, east-bound 7. 22146. Seventy-three in all? - Seventy-three in all. 22147. Have you also considered the figures for the ten years 1902 to 1911? - Yes. 22148. Was the number of passengers carried under the same conditions by both British and foreign ships over six millions? - Over six millions. 22149. And of those six millions was the greater proportion carried by vessels belonging to the United Kingdom? - Certainly; far the greater proportion. 22150. Now, will you give me the number of passengers who lost their lives by casualties at sea in vessels belonging to the United Kingdom? - West-bound 8, east-bound 1. 22151. Nine in all during that ten years? - Nine in all. 22152. I suppose it is not possible for you to give the figures with regard to the total which you have given, because that includes both the British and foreign ships? - Yes. I want to be very careful to point that out. 22153. You only have the figures available for vessels belonging to the United Kingdom? - Quite so. The Attorney-General: I have a Table, my Lord, which I have summarised, giving you what I think are the material figures, but I have a Table here for every year, showing them exactly. It did not seem to me that that was necessary. The total is what is required. The Commissioner: I suppose it is not possible to say how many of those 6,000,000 and