The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1912-05-23
Saw lights Of
DOOMED VESSEL
What Lord Mersey Declares to
Be Very Important Testimony
Is Brought Out at English
Enquiry Today-Warning
Was Sent.

LONDON. Special.-The inquiry Of
the Brush Government into the tt
tanic disaster produced sensational
developments today, when testimony
was introduced to show that the Ley
land line steamship California was
within easy reach OF the great White
Star liner when she plunged to the
bottom of the Atlantic, off the New
toundIand coast, on the morning Of
April 18th.
The master of the Californian, I'M
der oath, testified that he plainly saw
ilShts, which are believed TO have
been those OF the doomed ship, from
the time she struck the berg until
she settled beneath the waves
1t was estimated that the Califor-
man was from fifteen TO thirty-two
miles away from the Titanic when the
latter sank, within easy reach TO have
picked up practically every one on
the Inflated ship.
The Californian is thus Identified
IN the minds of many as the "phan-
tom snip, whose lights survivors saw
from the lifeboats.
Stanley Lord, master Of the Cali
fornian, told the story of the events
of the night of the disaster, part of
Whlch was characterized by Lord
Mersey, presiding judge Of the inquis-
itorial court, as very important.
LORD was witness before the
which Investigated the disaster in
America.
Lord story, told in answer to cues
tons of court and counsel, follows:
we sailed for the United States
April 9Th, arriving at Boston or April
18th. The ship carried no passenger
but we had lifeboats to accommodate
21S persons.
"On Sunday. April 14th, we encoun-
tered ice. The Titanic was within
wireless range at that time because
message which we sent out was in
tercepted by that ship. About half
past 10 on Sunday night the ice be-
came so thick that we had to stop
and reverse the engines.
About II o'clock, having remem-
bered the nearness Of the Titanic, I
told the wireless operator to send her
message of warming, and let her know
that we were surrounded by ice.
- AT the time I did not know whether
the Tttanic's operator had received the
message or not, as he flashed back the
reply: Keep out; I am busy with
CSape Race We could see the lights
the r efSse 9nt G49ming up, and stood at
her approach. About 1870 the Titanic
SSIniowed that the ship had stopped dead.
communicate with her with the Morse
lamp signal, but got no reply.
% AT twenty minutes to one another
o1ncer OF our ship met me on deck and
told that the ship whose lights we had
been watching was in the same po-
sition as she had been when she stop
ped at about 1870 The second officer
reported that he had seen a white
Lord Mersey broke in here to sug-
gest that the Californian would be
ABOUT fifteen miles away. Sir Robert
Finlay. chief counsel for the White
star Line, suggested nineteen miles.
continuing, the witness testified that
the third officer had told him he had
seen two masthead lights on the sta
tionary ship.
That's very important" interrupted
Lord Mersey for the Titanic had two
masthead lights"
The witness declared that he had
only seen one light himself. but ne had
taken the word of the third officer that
there were two. The second officer
also saw only one light.
Sir Rufus Isaacs. OF the government
counsel. declared that II the third Of
hcer was right the ship must certainly
nave been the Titanic.
Witness said there were O. number
OF ships in the travel lane which
might have carried two lights. He
estimated the distance between the
Californian and the other shin af
thirty-two miles. He said IL aid not
strike him as strange that the Morse
code was not answered. as IT was possi-
pie the. other ship had stopped because
OF the ice.
Damaging Testimony.
Damaging testimony OF mac
uvity on the Californian while