Page:The Lusitania's Last Voyage (lusitaniaslastvo00lauriala).djvu/175

 I know that some passengers did appear and did make official statements which they signed. Others laid evidence informally before the Solicitor, and while they did not sign statements, they were in London during the Official Inquiry and could have been summoned and would have testified.

The following testimony, for example, was informally offered: that the portholes were open, that the discipline of the officers and crew was not what it should have been, that the collapsible boats were not fitted with oars and were not in proper working condition, etc. None of this evidence seems to have been desired by his Lordship and his Assessors, or at least there is nothing to show that it was ever laid before them.

I do not question the sincerity of the findings of Lord Mersey's Court, based on the evidence placed before it; but what became of this informal evidence, as quoted