THE TITANIC DISASTER.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 461, 1 May 1912, Page 3

THE TITANIC DISASTER.

SENSATIONAL EVIDENCE

By Telegraph.—Press Association. —Copyrig-Ut New York, Saturday.

Some sensational evidence was given at Washington to-day at the continuation of the inquiry by the Senate's Investigating Committee into the circumstances of the wreck of the Titanic.

Gill, donkey - engineman on the steamer Californian (6223 tons gross, owned by the Lcyland line), stated that he saw the Titanic's white rockets at midnight on the night of the disaster. The Californian, said Gill, was then 10 miles away. He did not notify what he had seen to the bridge because those on the bridge could see the rockets themselves.

An apprentice officer, however, informed the captain of the rockets, but the latter disregarded the signals of distress.

Gill added that he tried to organise a deputation from the crew to go to the captain to protest against the signals being disregarded, but the men were afraid of losing their job. Captain Lord, of the Californian, denied Gill's allegations. He stated that when he came to the icefields he wirelessed the fact to the Titanic, which was 19£ miles away.

The Titanic, said Captain Lord, replied: "Shut up! Get out!" He saw one of the Titanic's signals, if he had received the "C.Q.D." signal on the Sunday he could have reached the Titanic in two hours. Another ship, the witness stated, lay within four or five miles of the Californian all night. This vessel sent up several white rockets, which were not distress signals. The Californian replied to these witn Morse signals. The captain added: "I told the wireless operator to ascertain the vessel's name, but she did not leply, so I went to bed. I was told that she steamed away about four o'clock. I am sure she was not the Titanic."

Mr Evans, the Californian's wireless operator, stated that he went to bed on the night of the Titanic wreck at 11.25 p.m. He had previously, at the captain's orders, warned the Titanic of the presence of icebergs.

The Titanic's operator replied: "Shut up! You jammed me working with Cape Race."

Mr Evans, continuing, said that the chief officer woke him at 3.40 a.m., saying, that he had seen rockets, and that he wanted information regarding them. Witness called up the steamer Frankfurt and learnt that the Titanic was sinking. It was generally believed on the Californian, said Mr Evans, that the rockets were from the Titanic. One of the Titanic's seamen, named Buley, stated: "A steamer with two lights at the masthead was visible when the Titanic struck. She passed right by. We thought she was coming to our help, and we told the passengers so to keep them quiet." Buley added: "The vessel must have seen the rockets, as we saw the ship itself."