Th e Times of Tuesday published a long letter from Sir
William White in which ho gave a careful analysis of the facts ascertained by the American inquiry into the loss of the ' Titanic. We may select a few interesting points. Sir William White thinks the opinion reasonable that if the Titanic' had struck the berg end-on, instead of with a slanting blow, she might have remained afloat, and this although she was travelling at not less than 2111 knots and had a striking force equal to that of a thousand tons falling vertically from a height of a thousand feet. The collision destroyed the -watertightness of the shell plating to a distance of 250 feet from the stem. The tilting of the vessel as she filled forwards was scarcely appreciable for a long time, owing to her tremendous length; but, as Sir William White says, any man understanding the laws of the stability and buoyancy of ships must have known very soon that she was doomed, though the passengers might well have been unaware of the fatal symptoms. Finally he says that improvements in the watertight subdivision of vessels will prove to be more portant than the provision of boats.
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