Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry

EIGHTH DAY

 

FRANK HARRISON,

second class steward, Empress of Ireland,

 

Sworn.

 

By Mr. Newcombe:

 

6243. What was your position on the Empress?
- Second class bedroom steward.

6244. What cabins were under your charge?
- From 400 to 430.

6245. Were they on the port or starboard side?
- On the starboard side.

6246. Were you on duty the night of the collision?
- No, sir.

6247. What time did you leave duty?
- At 10 o’clock.

6248. Are you in a position to give any testimony in regard to the closing of water-tight doors? Do you know anything about that?
- I close them every day when we have inspection.

6249. When you retired that night at 10 o’clock were the doors open or closed?
- Open.

6250. When did you go on deck again?
- When I heard the crash.

6251. Do you know anything about any doors having been closed at that time?
- When I heard the crash I heard the siren blow and I knew it meant to close the bulkhead doors, and I went right around to my door. I was unable to close it because there was too much water there.

6252. On what deck is that?
- On the upper deck.

6253. How much water did you find there then?
- I could not exactly say but I did not have much time to -

6254. Was the water deep on the deck?
- It was not too deep, but I could not get to where the door was.

6255. Where was this water coming from?
- I could not tell you, sir.

6256. Do you know anything about the portholes in the cabins?
- Yes, sir, they were all closed. All the ports were closed at 10 o’clock when I went off duty except the small passage ports.

6257. Do you mean by that the cross passages between the cabins?
- Yes, sir.

6258. Those ports were open?
- They were open at 10 o’clock.

6259. They were open at the time of the collision as far as you know?
- I could not tell that.

6260. You do not know. Did you observe, when you - went down after the collision whether these ports were open or not?
- No, sir.

6261. How do you know that the ports in the cabins were closed?
- Because I went around them myself at 10 o’clock.

6262. You went around to each cabin under your charge and saw that they were closed?
- Yes.

6263. Are they so closed that passengers cannot open them?
- They cannot open them without they have a key?

6264. There is no key in the cabin?
- No, sir, the key is kept under lock and key.

 

By Lord Mersey:

 

6265. Are the ports that you are talking about on the starboard side of the ship?
- Yes, sir.

 

By Chief Justice McLeod:

 

6266. Where were the ports that you say were not closed?
- On the starboard side up in the middle alleyways.

6267. Were they outside portholes?
- Yes, sir.

6268. They were not closed?
- No. sir, not at 10 o’clock.

 

By Sir Adolphe Routhier:

 

6269. In the passages?
- In the passages.

 

By Chief Justice McLeod:

 

6270. You spoke of going to a door and trying to close it?
- Yes.

6271. What door was it?
- No. 86.

6272. On the starboard side?
- On the starboard side.

6273. Was that one of the compartments that was broken by the impact?
- I could not tell that; it was near amidships.

 

By Sir Adolphe Routhier:

 

6274. In what part was it?
- It was forward of my cabin - by No. 400 room.

 

By Chief Justice McLeod:

 

6275. What kind of a door was it, a sliding door?
- A sliding door.

6276. The water was coming in?
- The water was up on the top where we were working. I could not see the door. The door was underneath the deck below.

 

By Mr. Newcomhe:

 

6277. Did you hear of any of these bulkhead doors being closed after the accident?
- Yes, sir. I heard them closing the doors on the shelter deck when I was rushing down.

6273. Did you hear of any of the lower doors being closed?
- I could not tell you: I did not hear.

6279. Have you ever heard since from any of your mates, or in conversation with any one on the ship, that the doors were closed, or did any one tell you that he had closed a door?
- No, sir.

 

By Chieff Justice McLeod:

 

6280. What deck did you say you were on?
- The upper deck that we worked the door from.

6231. The upper deck?
- Yes.

 

By Mr. Aspinall:

 

6282. Mr. Harrison, as soon as you felt the crash, what did you do; did you rush up at once?
- I first put on a little clothing and rushed right down to my door.

6283. You wasted no time?
- Not a minute.

6284. Your first thought was of your door?
- Yes, sir.

6285. That was your duty?
- Yes, sir.

6286. How did you know that this was your first duty?
- I heard the siren blow.

6287. The siren gave you the order, so to speak, and away you went at once to your door. That is what all the other stewards ought to have done if they did their duty, as you did?
- Those are the orders, sir.

6288. And having gone up and having done your best you could not work it?
- No.

6289. I want to ask you a little about the portholes. At what time of the day did the vessel leave Quebec?
- Somewhere about half-past three in the afternoon.

6290. Was it a fine afternoon?
- Yes, sir, very fine.

6291. And it continued fine throughout the night?
- Yes, sir.

6292. There was no wind?
- Not that I am aware of.

6293. The ordinary smooth waters of the St. Lawrence - no sea?
- Yes.

6294. Do you find that under these conditions a great many passengers like their port holes to be open?
- Yes, sir.

6295. When do you tell us that you went around and closed these portholes?
- Before I went off duty at ten o’clock.

6296. This was the first night out?
- Yes, sir.

6297. Were there some women and children amongst the passengers whom you had to look after?
- Yes, sir.

6298. Did some of these turn in very early?
- Yes, they were pretty nearly all turned in at 10 o’clock.

6299. Do you feel confident under these circumstances that nearly all having turned in at 10 o’clock, you went into their cabins and closed their ports?
- Yes, I always did go around before I went off duty.

6300. Do you feel confident that you did that on this night?
- Yes, sir.

6301. Did you find that any cabins had been locked when you tried to get in?
- No, sir.

6302. You were in the second class?
- Second class.

6303. Lord Mersey: This is very different from the experience that I have had myself. I must say that I always fasten my cabin door and I always have my porthole open in the cabin. (To witness.). Are there any passengers like me?
- Yes, sir, but we leave the ports open in the small alleyways and they have their doors open.

6304. What about the ports in the cabin?
- We close them the last thing at night.

6305. Do you find some passengers who refuse to have their ports closed?
- If we do find that we leave an order when we go off duty porthole open in such a number cabin so that the night watchman will know that the port is open in that cabin.

 

By Mr. Haight:

 

6306. Do I understand that except where a special note is made of that character you never allow a passenger to have his porthole open at night?
- We always close them at night.

6307. Regardless of the weather?
- Yes, sir; the last thing at night we close them.

6303. No matter how warm it may be or how smooth the sea is?
- Without the passenger particularly requests it.

6309. At ten o’clock on the night of this accident you were still in the St. Lawrence river?
- Yes, sir, as far as I know. I was down below.

6310. The weather was perfectly clear?
- Yes, sir.

6311. The water was perfectly smooth?
- Yes, sir.

Lord Mersey:
How does this part of the case affect you? It is necessary for us to ask these questions in order to make our report, but how does this affect you? I am only suggesting, in the interest of brevity, that we dispense with all unnecessary examinations.

Mr. Haight:
I am afraid it will be on the side of my case to which your Lordship takes exception, but personally I think, from my experience, that there is some doubt as to whether the witness is accurate in his recollection in giving such testimony.

Lord Mersey:
Supposing the witness is not accurate, how does it affect your case?

Mr. Haight:
It tends to affect the balance of his testimony.

Lord Mersey:
How does the testimony affect your case?

Mr. Haight:
There is nothing very vital to it.

Lord Mersey:
I do not think there is.

Mr. Haight:
No, there is not.

Lord Mersey:
I do not know what Mr. Aspinall wants to cross-examine at all for.

 

By Mr. Haight:

 

6312. Then state just where the gear was that you were supposed to work to close your watertight doors?
- Hanging up to the bulkhead right at the side of the door, sir.

6313. You had a crank hanging on the bulkhead?
- A key.

6314. Just where in the ship is the gear into which that key fits?
-

Lord Mersey:
How does this affect the Storstad?

Mr. Haight:
It bears directly on the question as to how fast the Empress sank.

Lord Mersey:
If it does that is another matter.

Mr. Haight:
He says that there were 2 feet of water in the companionway and entering the door when he got there?
- (Witness referred to plan.) The key hangs up here. (Witness indicated on exhibit, by letter ‘ K,' the place where the key hangs on the bulkhead.)

6315. Where is the gear into which that key fits?
- Right opposite to it on the deck.

6316. How long do you think it was after you felt the jar of the collision before you got to the point where that key was hanging?
- It was not many minutes.

6317. Did you go as fast as you reasonably could after you felt the jar?
- As soon as I had got some clothing on, I did.

6318. At that time there were two feet of water in the alleyway?
- No, sir, I did not say two feet - more water than I could get to place the key in.

6319. How high from the deck is the place where the key fits in?
- It is level with the deck - flush with the deck.

6320. About how much much water was there?
- I could not tell you exactly.

6321. You were standing in it; did it come up to your knees?
- No, sir, it did not come that far up.

 

Witness retired.