Page 26 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 6 - 9

The Commissioner: And then came the order, “Slow ahead.” The Attorney-General: That is it. 5818. (Mr. Laing.) The point I am upon is whether you felt the shock before the stop came or after? - After - no, before. It was when the shock came that they rang down to stop the engines. 5819. Do you say the shock came first? - No, afterwards. 5820. After the order to stop came the shock? - No. 5821. Very well, then you put it the other way? - When the shock came they rang down, “Stop the engines.” 5822. (The Commissioner.) The shock comes and then the order to stop? - Yes. 5823. That is what I understood? - We thought it was something in the engine room that had gone wrong. Mr. Laing: That does not agree with Barrett and it does not agree with Dillon. Both of those witnesses put the stop order first and the shock very shortly afterwards. The Attorney-General: I was going on to refer, your Lordship will remember, to the orders that came from the bridge; there is first the three bells and then the telephone. The Commissioner: That comes from the crow’s-nest. The Attorney-General: From the crow’s-nest to the bridge; then the telephone to the bridge, the response from the bridge; immediately then the order to the telegraph. The first order relates to the telegraph and gives the order which goes down to the engine room, “Hard a-starboard.” That is what happened. We shall be able to fix it later when we come to examine all the evidence together. The Commissioner: The question is in what order of events does the shock come. The Attorney-General: I should say from the evidence it came after. I should think that the first thing that happened was the three bells, and the telephone, and then the order from the bridge, “Hard a-starboard,” immediately after the order on the telephone. It is difficult to understand otherwise, because they did get the warning, although it is very shortly before, but immediately the order is given, and then came the shock, so far as we have had evidence from the bridge. Mr. Laing: I accept that; that seems to agree. The Attorney-General: I am only dealing with the evidence, as far as it has gone. Mr. Laing: So am I. The Attorney-General: It is very difficult, I quite agree with my learned friend. The Commissioner: I understand what you are saying, Mr. Laing. 5824. (Mr. Laing - To the Witness.) Did you ever see the dial of this telegraph at all, or are you only going by the rings? - No, I saw it. 5825. Up to the time when you left the engine room, had you seen any water below at all? - No. 5826. Neither in the engine room nor any of the compartments which you saw? - No. 5827. Did you meet any water in the alleyway as you went up? - No. 5828. None at all? - No. 5829. Up to the last? - No. 5830. Did I catch you to say that you saw the lights of a number of boats belonging to the “Titanic” when you were on board? - Yes, on the starboard side well away from the ship. 5831. How many engineers do you think there were? - Eight I saw. 5832. Officer engineers, I mean? - About eight I saw on deck. 5833. There are 36 I am told, all told? - I think so. 5834. So when you said you saw all the engineers you must have meant all the engineers that you knew? - Yes. 5835. You saw only eight of them? - I saw eight of them. 5836. Out of 36? - Yes.