Page 16 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 6 - 9

5600. (The Attorney-General.) Yes. (To the Witness.) And, so far as you know, as I understand it, they never were closed? - No. Why they opened them was they had to go down the last tunnel but one and get a big suction-pipe out, which they used for drawing the water up out of the bilges. 5601. That tunnel is the one before you get to the last water-tight door where they went to get a big suction pipe? - Yes, it takes four men to carry it. I think I saw four men coming through with it. They took it to the stokehold. What they did with it I do not know. The Commissioner: Will you get what time this was? 5602. (The Attorney-General - To the Witness.) What time was it? - About a quarter to one. 5603. (The Commissioner.) That is about an hour after the collision? - Yes. 5604. (The Attorney-General.) When you came back to the main engine room did you see whether the water-tight doors forward of the main engine room were open? - They must have been, because they could not take a suction pipe out to the stokehold if they were not. 5605. So that the suction pipe which they wanted, was taken right forward? - Taken into the stokehold. What they did with it I do not know. 5606. I only want to know whether you can remember. You say they must have been. Did you notice any of the water-tight doors forward of the main engine room open? - No, I never noticed them because I could not see them open. The men in the main engine room had to open them. The Attorney-General: We have evidence that some of them were up to No. 5. The Commissioner: Up to the division between 4 and 5. The Attorney-General: Yes, that is right. The Commissioner: If this evidence is right, there were no watertight bulkheads at all serving after a quarter to one from the bulkhead between four and five right away aft. The Attorney-General: That is right, my Lord; that is as I understand the evidence. Mr. Laing: May I interpose here and say that these watertight doors are fitted with a float so that if any material quantity of water comes the float automatically releases the door and it comes down again by itself. The Commissioner: That is something I do not at present quite understand. You mean to say that there is some provision by which these doors work again automatically? Mr. Laing: Yes. The Commissioner: If water comes in to any extent? Mr. Laing: Yes. The Commissioner: We have not heard of that. Mr. Laing: I only thought it right to tell your Lordship, having regard to what has been said about it. The Attorney-General: We shall go into that a little later, and see how it would work. The Commissioner: I was only saying, as far as I could gather at present, there were no operative watertight bulkheads from the bulkhead between four and five, right away aft after a quarter to one. The Attorney-General: I think that is right, my Lord. It is subject to this, that there was this automatic release which we shall have to hear something more about and discuss whether it was effective or not, and what happened when we get further evidence. But, so far as we know (and I rather gather it seems to agree with my friend Mr. Laing’s evidence), there was no order. I am not asking for an admission which is to operate against my friend; I mean, so far as we know at present, there is no question after that of closing the watertight doors? Mr. Laing: Nothing that I know of. 5607. (The Attorney-General.) We do not know anything either. It may be there may be some evidence later; we shall hear. (To the Witness.) Will you go back a little to something you just mentioned before, that I want you to tell the Court a little more about; that is, orders that you