Page 144 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 23 - 26

undoubtedly one which deserves consideration. What the result may be of course will appear later. 24432. (Mr. Edwards.) That intimation is quite sufficient for my purpose. I shall not attempt to pursue it. (To the Witness.) Now I want to ask you one or two questions as to the correspondence which passed between you and Messrs. Harland and Wolff. First of all, may I just point out that apparently there is a letter of the 1st June, 1910, from either you or your Surveyor at Belfast, to Messrs. Harland and Wolff, which appears to be a very important letter. It is missing from this bundle? - I have not got it. Mr. Edwards: Is Mr. Carruthers here? The Commissioner: A letter from whom? Mr. Edwards: I have a letter from Messrs. Harland and Wolff to the Board of Trade Surveyor at Belfast, and in that letter they say, “In view of the difficulties raised by your letter of the 1st inst. to the wording of your Regulation.” The Commissioner: A copy of that letter must be in the possession of the Board of Trade, and the original must be in the possession of Messrs. Harland and Wolff. Mr. Edwards: Yes. Perhaps Mr. Carruthers will say whether he has a copy of that letter? Mr. Carruthers: Yes, a copy can be got out of my letter-book at Belfast. The Commissioner: Where is your letter-book? Mr. Carruthers: At Belfast. Mr. Edwards: I suppose that could be sent here? The Commissioner: It must be possible to get the original letter, because Harland and Wolff would undoubtedly keep it. Mr. Laing: I have just asked if Mr. Wilding has it here, and he has not. The Commissioner: Well, but he could telegraph for it. Mr. Laing: Yes. Mr. Edwards: I would ask your Lordship to direct that Mr. Carruthers’s letter-book be sent also so that we may see it. The Attorney-General: There is no necessity to direct it; it shall be done. The Commissioner: You must not assume that the Board of Trade are attempting to stifle things. Mr. Edwards: I do not, my Lord. I was not suggesting that. The Commissioner: And I hope, Mr. Edwards, you do not think so. Mr. Edwards: I have a way, my Lord, of expressing quite frankly what I think. I am not thinking anything different from that which I am expressing when I say that I do not suggest for a moment that the Board of Trade are attempting to stifle things at all. On the contrary, I am rather inclined to think in this matter that the letter to which I refer will very considerably rebound to the credit of the Marine Department of the Board of Trade. The Commissioner: Well, now cannot you leave the Witness alone. Mr. Edwards: That might be taken, my Lord, as a declaration of clearance. The Commissioner: I do not mean that you have not helped us, because I think you have very much, but I think you have had enough from him. 24433. (Mr. Edwards - To the Witness.) I would just like to ask you this. Were you yourself satisfied when the question of the bulkheads was referred to you, that Messrs. Harland and Wolff in the building of the “Titanic” were taking the bulkheads to as high a deck as you thought was required by your regulations in Circular 1401? - Yes. 24434. You were satisfied? - Yes. 24435. Mr. Carruthers was not satisfied? - I do not understand that at all. The Attorney-General: No, I did not understand that. 24436. (Mr. Edwards.) Then I will call your attention to your Minute. Take the collision