Q.—Do you say that the water that went in at the pantry window caused the ship to founder? A.—I say it helped to founder her.
Q.—Directly she was put on her course, she came on her beam ends and never righted herself. Was it not the shifting of her course that caused her to founder? A.—Not that I am aware of.
Q.—When she foundered, you were in the sea looking on? A.—Yes.
Q.—Does that picture correctly represent the sinking of the Alert? (Picture showing the vessel in the act of going down handed to witness.) A.—I don’t say correctly. It is something fair.
Q.—Do you call that a moderate gale which is depicted there? A.—I did not make that picture. I told them the ship went down stern first, and they drew it themselves.
Q.—In your previous evidence before the Marine Board you said, “The second sea that came washed me overboard and I clung to the rail, and the next sea took me on board again. The second sea washed me into the saloon, and the water dashed in the cabin door. The steward drew my attention to the water in the saloon.” What did you mean by that? A.—I never used those expressions. They are put down wrongly.
Q.—The statement was read over to you, and you signed it. Why did you not correct it? A.—I certainly would have done so if I had understood it when it was read over. I do not remember hearing it read. It may have been read, but I could not follow it.
Q.—Was the ship going ahead at the time she disappeared? A.—No, she was drifting in.
Q.—Did not the smoke and flame rush out of the funnel before she foundered? A.—It rushed out when she was foundering.
Re-examined by Mr. C. A. Smyth: I have been suffering ever since the wreck, and was confined to bed in the first instance for about three months. When I was examined before the Marine Board was four or five weeks after the wreck. I was not recovered at that time, and had to take to my bed after that. I cannot say whether the statement I then made was read to me before I signed it. Some of the passages are not correct. My memory varies sometimes, but it is fairly good on the whole subject. I was in the saloon when the lamps were smashed, and there was no water in the place at that time. The lightness of the ship and the show of getting her round were matters of conversation amongst all of us.