700. Which deck is it?
- The "F" deck I think it is on the plan.
701. Does that run the whole length of the ship?
- I understand it does.
702. Where is " F" deck in relation to the water line -
The Commissioner:
Mr. Edwards, will you tell me what it is you are driving at?
Mr. Clem Edwards:
Yes, my Lord; what I am driving at is this. I want to get whether the watertight doors acted, and I want then to get them, if I can, from the witnesses evidence, how the water came; whether it is a question of there having been caused sufficient destruction by the torpedo to get an area in this ship filled with sufficient water to sink it, or whether it is not possible that she sank, not in consequence directly and immediately of the water let in by the torpedo explosion, but in consequence of the water coming over, as we had in another case, the top of the bulkhead and filling her in that way.
The Commissioner:
Supposing you get it all, tell me, what does it matter?
Mr. Clem Edwards:
It matters nothing as to those who have gone down in this ship, my Lord, but it matters materially as to steps that ought to be taken in the future.
The Commissioner:
Do you propose to enter into an inquiry as to whether this ship was built on the most scientific principles. I know something about these Inquiries and I am wondering when we shall come to the end of this Inquiry?
Mr. Clem Edwards:
We a ll know that your Lordship's knowledge of these inquiries is unique, and I do not for a single moment, propose to raise the elementary questions of construction, which, by your Lordship's direction, were referred to a certain expert committee after the "Titanic" Inquiry, who have reported.
The Commissioner:
What became of it?
Mr. Clem Edwards:
W hat has become of them is that they are being put on the shelf while all our attention is drawn to the war; but the suggestions and recommendations there recorded, if I may say so, constitute very refreshing fruit from the seeds which some of us were able to sow in the "Titanic" Inquiry. I do not propose in this case to go into elementary questions of construction, but I do think, if I may say so with profound respect, that it is germane to this Inquiry to ascertain whether, either by the construction or by the use of the construction, this ship might not have been kept afloat for a longer period.
The Commissioner:
This gentleman is a third engineer. Do you think his answers are of any value on these abstruse points?
Mr. Clem Edwards:
From my experience of third engineers in Inquiries of this sort, I should say they might be of very material value on the practical side; but if your Lordship thinks I ought not to pursue it, I will leave it.
The Commissioner:
No, I do not think anything at all, but I do not want to sit here to go through what I am afraid will turn out to be a perfectly useless Inquiry. You have tried it before, you know.
Mr. Clem Edwards:
With great respect -
The Commissioner:
I have said what I have to say, and I am going to leave it to your wisdom.
703. Mr. Clem Edwards: I think we can get it, by your Lordship's permission, from the witnesses. Now I will repeat the question if I may. (To the Witness.) Can you say whether the watertight deck, that is deck F, was so watertight as would preclude, if it were in perfect order, water coming over from one watertight compartment to another?
- Yes.
704. The Commissioner: Have you ever tried it?
- No.
705. Then how do you know?
The Attorney-General:
On the assumption that it is watertight no water can get in or out.
706. Mr. Clem Edwards: Anyhow, that is what you understand this deck would prevent if it was intact?
- Yes, that is so.
707. Then when the explosion took place I suppose you got out of the engine room as speedily as possible, did you?
- The particular engine room that I was in, the high pressure engine room, I got out of that one into the low-pressure one.
708. Now, how long after the explosion did you get up as high as to deck F?
- I could not say definitely as to the number of minutes. It was certainly two or three minutes, I should say. I did not take the times.
709. The Commissioner: You were not looking at your watch all the time?
- No, I was not, my Lord.
710. Mr. Clem Edwards: Now, did you at any time see water on that deck - deck F?
- I never saw water on deck F. I was not on deck F; I was only up to the level of deck F.
711. Now, did you see water on any portion of deck F?
- No.
The Commissioner:
Are you talking about deck A or deck F?
Mr. Clem Edwards:
Deck F, my Lord.
Examined by Mr. MARSHALL.
712. At the time of the explosion you were the Engineer in charge of the main engine; you were down below in charge of the main engine, and you would be the person to take orders from the telegraph and see that they were carried out?
- That is so.
713. You had no time to look at any of the watertight doors further than those in your immediate neighhourhood?
- That is correct.
714. Therefore the whole of your time was taken up down below in attending to your orders and seeing that they were carried out?
- It was.
715. Have you any idea what those orders were - they were orders conveyed to you by telegraph. What were the orders that were given to you?
- The order I got was full speed astern.
716. How long did that continue?
- That was rung on the port or inside telegraph.
717. Did you continue full speed astern long?
- No.
718. Then what was the next order?
- It was rung back to full speed ahead.
719. How long was it after the vessel was torpedoed before you left the engine room?
- I could not say how many minutes, it would be probably five minutes or seven minutes; that is when I first went up.
720. A great deal of the work of closing the watertight doors is usually done from the bridge, is it not?
- A number of the doors can be closed from the bridge.
721. If a vessel is in serious danger, what information have you from the bridge to look after your own life?
- There is a naval telephone, a means of conveying a message.
722. And in this particular case did you get any telephone message to take means to save your life?
- No.
723. As far as you know there was no message sent down to the engineers to come on deck?
- Not while I was on the platform.
724. Do yon think that would in any way be the cause of so many engineers having lost their lives?
- No.
725. You do not think that is likely?
- No.
Examined by Mr. CLEM EDWARDS.
726. Did the bell ring when the crew were told to close the bulkhead doors?
- There is a bell fixed on each hydraulic door which rings as the door is closing.
727. Did you hear that bell that day?
- From the position I was in I could not hear the bells at any time.
728. Did you notice at any time that the doors were closed?
- I could not notice the doors were closed from the position I was in.
729. The reason I ask the question is that you would have thought there was something wrong if you noticed the doors closing after the explosion?
- The door that I passed through had not started to close when I passed through it.
730. But if you had noticed the doors closing after the explosion you would know there was something wrong, and that it was time to come on deck?
- Yes.
731. The Commissioner: Did you hear the torpedo strike the ship?
- Yes.
732. Did you know that there was something wrong then?
- Yes, very much wrong.
Examined by Mr. BUTLER ASPINALL.
733. You told us that two orders came down from the bridge, one "full astern" and the other "full ahead." Were those orders carried out?
- Well to the best of my ability I attempted to carry the orders out. The steam was very far reduced, and the vacuum was falling back; I made all the effort that was possible for me to make to carry those orders out.
The Commissioner:
Mr. Aspinall, what was the object of the order "full speed ahead."
Mr. Butler Aspinall:
That I do not know, my Lord.
The Commissioner:
I can understand the order full speed astern, but I do not know what the full speed ahead means.
Mr. Butler Aspinall:
No, my Lord, I think, probably, the Captain's story was not taken at any length, but he told us he put his helm hard-a-starboard and headed her for the land, and probably it was about that time that he gave the order "full speed ahead" in order to take her to land.
The Commissioner:
But would that be after the order "full speed astern"?
Mr. Butler Aspinall:
Yes, the order "full speed astern" was given, I understand, for the purpose of taking the weigh off the ship so that the boats could be safely lowered.
The Commissioner:
Yes, but I do not understand why the order "full speed ahead" was given.
Mr. Butler Aspinall:
What I think may be the explanation is that having put the helm hard-a-starboard in heading up for the land, he, or somebody on the bridge, thought, well now, drive her towards the land. The Captain, in fact, says he did not, and, therefore, I say, if he did not somebody on the bridge did.
The Commissioner:
That order would defeat the object of the order "full speed astern."
734. Mr. Butler Aspinall: It would, my Lord. (To the witness): In fact, you do not think either order was carried out?
- There was no time to carry out the first order. I took it as being in consequence of the previous order I got from the chief engineer, but on the telegraph being rung to open her out and give her as much as they could.
735. You told us, you know, that the steam had dropped to 50 lbs. pressure. Do you know what caused that drop?
- I do not, not definitely.
(The Witness withdrew.)