LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 
225 
If you and he had differed, you have no doubt which wornd 
have been obeyed by the men ? It would not have been right in 
me to have disputed that point with him, I never should have 
thought proper to have continued in command of the ship, if 
Capt. Ross wished to assume the command. 
With your experience of naval matters in cases of danger, do 
you consider it possible there should be two officers of coequal 
power? No, the command must devolve on one person. 
On whom did it devolve? In all cases it devolved upon me, as 
respecting the conduct of the ship 
The question did not arise between you and Capt. Ross? No, 
it was quite understood between us before we sailed. 
What was understood? That I should conduct every thing my¬ 
self, Capt. Ross might have said if he chose, “ I do not approve 
of this or that,’’ and then I could only have said, “ you must 
conduct it yourself, both cannot do so.” 
That being impossible, a deference to the one or the other 
being required, who paid the deference? Certainly I should 
immediately have yielded, but then from that moment I should 
have ceased to command, and left him to conduct the expedition 
himself. 
From whom did you consider your authority to emanate ? From 
Mr. Booth. 
Do you account for this divided authority in the ship from your 
connexion with Mr. Booth; did you consider yourself as represent¬ 
ing the more immediate interest of Mr. Booth in the ship ? No, 
not at all. 
You have said that Mr. Booth would not have engaged in the 
expedition unless you were a party to it? I did not say he would 
not, I only repeated the converstaion between him and myself; 
he said if I hesitated to go, he w r ould hesitate to say whether 
the expedition should go or not. 
Had you an opportunity of personal participation in any 
specific service to the expedition, by which you consider that the 
lives of the people were preserved ? I do not know that I should 
quite say that I did, but certainly it was essential to the safety 
of the people, that I should leave them on one occasion. A room- 
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