PETERSEN,
seaman, s.s. Alden.
Examined.
Mr. PETER ANDREW JENSEN, previously sworn, acted as interpreter.
Lord Mersey:
Was this ship, the Alden, carrying coal?
Mr. Griffin:
Yes, sir, she was bound from Sydney to Montreal with coal.
Lord Mersey:
She was performing the same voyage that the Storstad was?
Mr. Griffin:
Precisely the same, my Lord.
Lord Mersey:
Was she performing it for the same company?
Mr. Griffin:
I think she was although I am not perfectly certain of that - yes she was, I am told. She was under charter for the same company.
Lord Mersey:
Well then, this company had the two boats under charter?
Mr. Griffin:
Under time charter to the Dominion Coal Company.
By Mr. Griffin:
4271. You are a seaman on the steamship Alden?
- (Witness). Yes, sir.
4272. You have been here for seven months?
- Seven months.
4273. How long have you been taking regular turn at the wheel of that steamship?
- Five months.
4274. On the evening of May 28, do you remember passing a passenger steamship?
- Passed a steamboat with two smokestacks.
4275. Did you hear the name of the vessel mentioned by your pilot?
- The pilot said it was the Empress.
4276. Were you at the wheel of your vessel at the time?
- Yes, sir.
4277. Is that wheel on the bridge?
- Yes, sir.
4278. Tell us what lights you saw on the Empress as she approached you.
- First the two masthead lights and the port light.
4279. What colour was the port light?
- Red.
Lord Mersey:
What colour would you expect it to be?
Mr. Griffin:
I just wanted to make sure of the witness.
4280. (To witness). Tell us the changes, if any, you saw in the lights of the Empress as she approached?
- I saw both lights.
4281. And then what?
- I saw the starboard light.
4282. Then what; go on and give all of it to us.
- Both lights.
4283. Well go on.
- The port light.
4284. How many times did you see a change from green to red and from red to green?
- Three times, about.
4285. Did you get any order to your wheel as you and the Empress approached each other?
- Port helm.
4286. How much did you port your helm?
- About 1½ points.
4287. On which side did you and the Empress pass?
- Port.
Cross-examined by Mr. Aspinall:
4288. Are you a Norwegian?
- Yes, sir.
4289. Do you know any of the crew on board the Storstad?
- I have seen them but I do not know their names.
4290. You have been here for seven months on board this steamer plying between Sydney and Montreal, is that right?
- Yes, sir.
Lord Mersey:
Ask him how long the trip from Sydney to Montreal takes.
By Mr. Aspinall:
4291. How long does the trip from Sydney to Montreal take?
- Four days.
Lord Mersey:
Ask him how many trips he has made in the seven months in which he has been in the erpploy.
By Mr. Aspinall:
4292. How many trips have you made in the seven months you have been on board the Alden?
- I cannot say.
4293. About?
- I cannot say.
4294. Does your ship, when she gets to Montreal, discharge her cargo at once and return to Sydney?
- Yes, if there is no boats in the way.
4295. What do you mean by that?
- At the discharging berth.
4296. If she can get her discharging berth she gets rid of her coal and at once goes back?
- Yes.
4297. Have you in the seven months made a large number of trips?
- I do not know.
4298. Why do you not know?
-
By Lord Mersey:
4299. Has he made more than two trips in the seven months?
- Yes.
4300. Has he made a dozen trips?
- No.
4301. Has he made a half-dozen trips - 6 - ? Does he make one trip in a month?
- About three.
4302. Three trips a month? That would make 21 trips if he has been employed seven months.
Mr. Griffin:
If you would allow me, I think that this man’s meaning is that he has been seven months on the steamer but not seven months plying between these two ports. Seven months ago the river was closed by ice and navigation was impossible. That is the explanation, I think.
Lord Mersey:
It may be. I do not know when the river was open.
Mr. Griffin:
The middle of May, they tell me.
Mr. Aspinall:
Towards the end of April I am told.
Lord Mersey:
I am told it opens about the beginning of April.
Mr. Griffin:
About the 25th of April, I am told, my Lord.
By Lord Mersey:
4303. Where was the boat plying during the first five or six months that you were in the employ and what was the boat doing?
- Between Narwick, Norway and Emden.
4304. When was her first trip from Sydney to Montreal?
- The first of May.
4305. How many days does it take to go from Sydney to Montreal?
- About four.
4306. Now, can he tell us how many trips he made between Sydney and Montreal from the 1st of May until the time when he saw the Empress coming down the river?
- I think three.
By Mr. Aspinall:
4307. Can you tell me of any other occasion that you remember seeing the lights of a passing vessel?
- Yes, sir, many times.
4308. Could you tell us if we were to ask you what lights they showed you?
- First the masthead light.
4309. Now you are going to the story. Have you ever been on the Storstad yourself?
- Yes, sir.
4310. When?
- The last trip to Montreal.
4310 (a). How long ago was that?
- I am not sure.
4311. Was it since you saw the lights of the Empress of Ireland?
- Yes, sir.
4312. Did anybody on board the Storstad talk to you about this collision?
- Yes, sir.
4313. Why did you come to be upon the Storstad; were you asked to go?
- I went on board to look at the damage.
Lord Mersey:
Ask him whether the two ships, the Alden and the Storstad, are consigned to the same office in Montreal?
Mr. Aspinall:
I am told that it is their own office at both ends, namely, the Dominion Coal Company’s office.
Lord Mersey:
I want to know if both these ships are consigned to the same office.
Mr. Aspinall:
I am told so, and I have no doubt -
Mr. Haight:
They are both on time charter to the Dominion Coal Company, and they both discharge in Montreal at the Dominion Coal wharf.
Lord Mersey:
Are the men paid in the same office in Montreal?
Mr. Haight:
No, they belong to different owners and they are paid with money which comes from the owners of the ships.
Lord Mersey:
But who pays them when they get to Montreal?
Mr. Haight:
The master is provided with funds by his owner abroad and he pays his own crew.
By Lord Mersey:
4314. Ask him where he gets his wages in Montreal.
- The Captain.
4315. Is the money paid to him on board ship or in an office?
- On board ship.
By Mr. Aspinall:
4316. When you went on board the Storstad to see the damage did you have a talk about the collision?
- Nothing but they said on board that the Storstad touched the side of the Empress.
4317. Are you sure that is all you were told?
- Yes, and told something about the Empress.
Lord Mersey:
Have you, Mr. Haight, got the time charters of the two ships?
Mr. Haight:
We can get copies. The Dominion Coal Company certainly have their copies.
Lord Mersey:
The Dominion Coal Company as I understand, chartered both ships on time charter?
Mr. Haight:
Yes, my Lord.
Lord Mersey:
Did they charter them both on the same form?
Mr. Haight:
It was the form of the brokers, I suppose. Captain Andersen, do you know who your brokers are?
Captain Andersen:
Clarkson of London.
Lord Mersey:
And who are the brokers through which the Storstad was chartered?
Mr. Haight:
That is the Storstad, sir. I asked Captain Andersen about his ship.
Lord Mersey:
I want to know who are the agents for the chartering of the Alden.
Mr. Haight:
My guess is that it is Bowering & Co. of New York. That is only a guess but I can verify it and I will he glad to do so.
Lord Mersey:
You do not know where the charter would be.
Mr. Haight:
I do not know but the Dominion Coal Company must have its copies and we will take immediate steps to ascertain that.
Lord Mersey:
It is scarcely worth while.
By Mr. Aspinall:
4318. When were you first asked about seeing the lights of the Empress?
- At the hotel here.
4319. When?
- Yesterday.
Lord Mersey:
I did not catch that.
Mr. Aspinall:
He was asked for the first time about seeing the Empress lights yesterday in the hotel. (To witness): How came you to be in the hotel?
- I was together with a lawyer.
4320. Who brought you to the hotel?
- The lawyer, another fellow, the second mate and a sailor.
4321. Where did you come from?
- Three Rivers.
4322. Where is that?
- Between Montreal and Quebec.
4323. Is your ship at Three Rivers -
- Yes, sir.
Lord Mersey:
Three Rivers is near Montreal?
Mr. Aspinall:
Half way, I am told, between Montreal and Quebec.
By Lord Mersey:
4324. I want to know whether he has been in the office ever of the Dominion Coal Co.?
- No, sir.
By Mr. Aspinall:
4325. When you saw the red light of the Empress was it on your port bow?
- Yes, sir.
4326. Can you say whether she had to change course for any lights that were astern of you?
- No, sir.
By Lord Mersey:
4327. What does he mean by ‘no’? Can he or can he not say?
- He cannot say.
By Mr. Aspinall:
4328. In the St. Lawrence you have very often to port and starboard for other vessels?
- It is a crooked river.
4329. And you have to alter course a good deal, have you not?
- Yes.
Witness retired.