Shipwrecks -- North Atlantic Ocean -- History -- 20th century; Titanic (Steamship)
Mr. Edwards: I agree; but I say that a managing director going on
board a liner, commercially responsible for it and taking upon himself
certain functions, had a special moral obligation and duty more than
is possessed by one passenger to another passenger.
Lord Mersey: But how is a moral duty relative to this inquiry? It
might be argued that there was a moral duty for every man on board
that every woman should take precedence, and I might have to inquire
whether every passenger carried out his moral duty.
Mr. Edwards agreed that so far as the greater questions involved in
this case were concerned this matter was one of trivial importance.
* * * * *
From address of Sir Robert Finlay, K. C., M. P., Counsel for White
Star Company (Br. Inq.):
It has been said by Mr. Edwards that Mr. Ismay had no right to save
his life at the expense of any other life. He did not save his life at
the expense of any other life. If Mr. Edwards had taken the trouble to
look at the evidence he would have seen how unfounded this charge is.
There is not the slightest ground for suggesting that any other life
would have been saved if Mr. Ismay had not got into the boat. He did
not get into the boat until it was being lowered away.
Mr. Edwards has said that it was Mr. Ismay’s plain duty to go about
the ship looking for passengers, but the fact is that the boat was
being lowered. Was it the duty of Mr. Ismay to have remained, though
by doing so no other life could have been saved? If he had been
impelled to commit suicide of that kind, then it would have been
stated that he went to the bottom because he dared not face this
inquiry. There is no observation of an unfavorable nature to be made
from any point of view upon Mr. Ismay’s conduct. There was no duty
devolving upon him of going to the bottom with his ship as the captain
did. He did all he could to help the women and children. It was only
when the boat was being lowered that he got into it. He violated no
point of honor, and if he had thrown his life away in the manner now
suggested it would be said he did it because he was conscious he could
not face this inquiry and so he had lost his life.
ENGELHARDT BOAT “A.”
Floated off the ship.
_Passengers:_ T. Beattie,* P. D. Daly,† G. Rheims, R. N. Williams,
Jr., first-class; O. Abelseth,† W. J. Mellers, second-class; and Mrs.
Rosa Abbott,† Edward Lindley,‡ third-class.
_Crew:_ Steward: E. Brown. Firemen: J. Thompson, one unidentified
body.* Seaman: one unidentified body.*
* Body found in boat by _Oceanic_.
† Pulled into boat out of sea.
‡ Died in boat.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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