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Show BEADCHAMP ISJXA1INED London, May 7. The apathy of the British public, which hns been one of the features thus far of the board of trade inquiry into tho Titanic disaster, dis-aster, was again demonstrated by the thin attcdnanco when the commissioners, commis-sioners, under the presidency of Lord Mersey, resumed thoir investigation today. Tho first witnoss called today was Georgo Beauchamp, a fireman of tho Titanic, who testified: "I did not know which was my boat station. 1 heard that a list had been put up that morning, but I did not see It. None had been put up before. I did not know whero to go, so I went up to the boat deck and to lifeboat No. 13 on tho starboard side, whore I helped to put in the women and children. chil-dren. There was an officer there and when tho lifeboat was full ho gave the order "lower away.' There were between GO and 70 In all In the boat." "Everything was orderly and all the peoplo were wulto calm," oBauchamp added. oBauchamp Bald ho could not tell whothor the passengers wero traveling flr3t or third class. There was no light, compass, provisions nor water In tho boaL Beauchamp testified that ho had seen no boat xlrlll on the Titanic. He had been ten years at sea and on most of the liners on which ho had been ongaged thero was a weekly boat drill. Beauchamp said a stoker took chnrgo on boat No. 13, Thomas Scanlan, member of parliament par-liament for North Sligo, who Is appearing ap-pearing as counsel for the Seamen's and Firemen's union, ln cross-examination, asked eBauchamp: "Huvo you ever before known of a stoker being placed, in charge of a liner's lifeboat?" Lord Mersey ruled that tho question was irrelevant. Quartermaster Robert Hichens testified tes-tified that he was on duty on the bridge of the Titanic at 8 o'clock. He beard Secon dOfficcr Llghtollcr through the telephone glvo an order to the men i nthe crow's nest to keep a charp lookout for ice and growlers. Hichens went on duty at the wheel at 10 o'clock. He testified that the log book showed it to havo been 45 knots In two uOirre and that, there was no chango up to the time tho Titanic Ti-tanic struck tho iceberg at 11:40. Hichens had understood that tho two quartermasters on duty were to take charge of tho two emergency boats in the event of trouble. He did not know to which of them ho was supposed to go. |