Lord Mersey's Report on the Loss of the “Titanic”

THE proceeding's of the Court, over which Lord Mersey presided as Wreck Commissioner, extended over thirty-seven days of public sittings, at which ninety-seven witnesses were examined, a large number of documents, charts, and plans were produced, and a great mass of facts and evidence was accumulated in connection with this “formal investigation” of the circumstances attending the loss of the Titanic. On the basis of these materials Lord Mersey, with the aid of five assessors, has produced a report in which twenty-six questions formulated by the Board of Trade are specifically answered. These questions “deal with the history of the ship, her design, construction, size, speed, general equipment, life-saving apparatus, wireless installation, her orders and course, her passengers, her crew, their training, organisation, and discipline; they request an account of the casualty, its cause and effect, and of the means taken for saving those on board the ship; they call for a report upon the efficiency of the Rules and Regulations made by the Board of Trade under the Merchant Shipping Acts, and on their administration; and finally for any recommendations to obviate similar disasters which may appear to the Court to be desirable.” The field of inquiry thus opened was very extensive; many of the questions involved matters of personal responsibility and conduct; even as regards matters of fact there were considerable differences of opinion and evidence, as was inevitable in the circumstances. All who followed the course of this difficult and prolonged inquiry must have been impressed with the firmness, impartiality, and judicial ability displayed by Lord Mersey throughout the proceedings. His readiness to accept any valuable contributions of fact or personal opinion from those qualified to assist the Court; the summary but thorough manner in which questions of a personal nature—especially those affecting Mr. Bruce Ismay and Sir Cosmo and Lady Duff-Gordon—were dealt with; the frank announcement of decisions reached by Lord Mersey on certain points at comparatively early stages of the investigation, and the consequent saving of time; the courage with which attempts to give disproportionate importance to side issues or to class interests were rendered futile; the patience and fairness with which many of the witnesses, especially those of the seaman class, were treated and their evidence made clearer; the mastery of technical details displayed; and many other characteristics of procedure which cannot be mentioned, gave distinction to this memorable inquiry, and demonstrated the great advantages secured by the selection of an experienced judge as Wreck Commissioner. Long as the proceedings lasted, it could not be said that there was any avoidable waste of time, unless it occurred in the speeches of counsel. Great industry must have been applied to the analysis of the evidence and the preparation of the report; otherwise it could not have been produced so promptly. There are, however, no traces of haste or lack of mature consideration in its contents and recommendations; it epitomises the history of the Titanic and makes clear the causes of her loss; it contains valuable suggestions for increasing the safety of life and property at sea, and in other ways is a most important and valuable document.