On the 15th of April the steamship _Carpathia_, 13,600 tons gross, of
the Cunard Line, Mr. Arthur Henry Rostron, master, was on her passage
to Liverpool from New York. She carried some 740 passengers and 325
crew.
On receipt of the _Titanic_'s first distress message the captain
immediately ordered the ship to be turned around and driven at her
highest speed (17-1/2 knots) in the direction of the _Titanic_. He also
informed the _Titanic_ by wireless that he was coming to her assistance,
and he subsequently received various messages from her. At about 2.40 a.
m. he saw a green flare which, as the evidence shows, was being sent up
by Mr. Boxall in No. 2 boat. From this time until 4 a. m. Capt. Rostron
was altering his course continually in order to avoid icebergs. He fired
rockets in answer to the signals he saw from Boxall's boat. At 4 o'clock
he considered he was practically up to the position given and he stopped
his ship at 4.05. He sighted the first boat (No. 2) and picked her up at
4.10. There was then a large number of icebergs around him, and it was
just daylight. Eventually he picked up in all 13 lifeboats, two
emergency boats, and two collapsible boats, all of which were taken on
board the _Carpathia_, the other boats being abandoned as damaged or
useless. From these boats he took on board 712 persons, one of whom died
shortly afterwards. The boats were scattered over an area of 4 or 5
miles, and it was 8 a. m. before they had all been picked up. He saw
very little wreckage when he got near to the scene of the disaster, only
a few deck chairs, cork life belts, etc., and only one body. The
position was then 41° 46´ N., 50° 14´ W.
The _Carpathia_ subsequently returned to New York with the passengers
and crew she had rescued.
The court desires to record its great admiration of Capt. Rostron's
conduct. He did the very best that could be done.