It had been suggested before the inquiry that the third-class passengers
had been unfairly treated; that their access to the boat deck had been
impeded, and that when at last they reached that deck the first and
second class passengers were given precedence in getting places in the
boats. There appears to have been no truth in these suggestions. It is
no doubt true that the proportion of third-class passengers saved falls
far short of the proportion of the first and second class, but this is
accounted for by the greater reluctance of the third-class passengers to
leave the ship, by their unwillingness to part with their baggage, by
the difficulty of getting them up from their quarters, which were at the
extreme ends of the ship, and by other similar causes. The interests of
the relatives of some of the third-class passengers who had perished
were in the hands of Mr. Harbinson, who attended the inquiry on their
behalf. He said at the end of his address to the court:
I wish to say distinctly that no evidence has been given in the
course of this case which would substantiate a charge that any
attempt was made to keep back the third-class passengers. * * * I
desire further to say that there is no evidence that when they did
reach the boat deck there was any discrimination practiced either
by the officers or the sailors in putting them into the boats.
I am satisfied that the explanation of the excessive proportion of
third-class passengers lost is not to be found in the suggestion that
the third-class passengers were in any way unfairly treated. They were
not unfairly treated.