Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 19.djvu/550

530 recovered when, on 2d August 1873, a more disastrous conflagration destroyed about twenty blocks in one of the most crowded parts of the city, and caused a total loss of 1,345,400.

PORTLAND, ISLE OF, a small island or peninsula of England, in the English Channel, 4 miles south of Weymouth, Dorsetshire, connected with the mainland by a long narrow ridge of shingle called the Chesil Bank. There is communication with Weymouth both by rail and steamer. The island is 4J miles long by If broad, the area being 2890 acres. The coast-line is wild and precipitous, and Portland is inaccessible from the sea on all sides except the south. The highest elevation is 490 feet. Numerous caverns have been excavated by the action of the waves, and off Portland Bill, the southern extremity of the island, is a bank called the Shambles, between which and the land there flows a dangerous current called the Race of Port land. The substratum of the island is Kimmeridge clay, above which rest beds of sands and strata of Oolitic lime stone, widely famed as a building stone. The extensive quarries have supplied the materials for St Paul s Cathedral and many other important public buildings in London and elsewhere, about 70,000 tons of stone being now exported annually. In the &quot;dirt-bed&quot; resting upon the Oolitic strata numerous specimens of petrified wood are found, some of them of great size. The soil, though shallow, is fertile, and mutton fed on the grass has a peculiarly rich flavour. Agriculture, fishing, and especially quarrying give employment to the inhabitants, who are tall and handsome, and retain some singular customs, among which may be mentioned that of conveying land by &quot;church gift &quot; (see REAL ESTATE). By the construction of a break water 2^ miles in length, the building of which occupied twenty-three years, from 1849 to 1872, a harbour of refuge 2100 acres in extent has been formed, affording a safe and convenient anchorage for a very large fleet of vessels. It is defended by two forts of great strength, mounted with heavy ordnance. A convict prison, erected on Portland in 1848, has cells for 1500 prisoners.

Portland Castle, built by Henry VIII. in 1520, is generally occupied by the commander of the engineers or of the regiment stationed on the island. On the east side of the island are the remains of a more ancient fortress, ascribed to William Rufus. The Isle of Portland is not mentioned in the time of the Romans. In 837 it was the scene of an action against the Danes, and in 1052 it was plundered by Earl Godwine. In 1643 the Parliamentary party made them selves masters of the island and castle, but shortly afterwards these were regained by the Royalists through a clever stratagem, and not recovered again by the forces of the Parliament till 1646. The island is under the government of a local board of health. The population in 1871 was 9907, and in 1881 it was 10,061, including 550 on board vessels, 861 in Verne Citadel barracks, and 1620 in the convict prison.

PORTLAND, WILLIAM BENTINCK, FIRST EARL OF (d. 1 709), was descended from an ancient and noble family of Guelderland, and became page of honour to William, prince of Orange, from which he was advanced to be gentleman of the bedchamber. In this capacity he accompanied the prince to England in 1670, and along with him was created doctor of civil law by the university of Oxford. Afterwards he became a colonel in a Dutch regiment of guards. When the prince of Orange was attacked with smallpox he, in accordance with a suggestion of the physicians, volunteered to lie in bed with him, that the heat of his body might check and expel the disease. This remarkable act of self-sacrifice secured him throughout life the special friendship of the prince, and by his prudence and ability, no less than by his devotedness, he fully justi fied the confidence that was placed in him. In 1677 he was sent by the prince to England to solicit the hand of the princess Mary, eldest daughter of James, then duke of York. At the Revolution he was the chief medium of communication between the prince and the English nobility, and in the delicate negotiations his practical shrewdness greatly facilitated the arrival at a proper understanding. After superintending the arrangements in connexion with the prince s expedition, he accompanied him to England, and was made groom of the stole, privy purse, first gentle man of the royal bedchamber, and first commissioner on the list of privy councillors. On 9th April 1689 he was created Baron Cirencester, Viscount Woodstock, and earl of Portland. With the rank of lieutenant-general he dis tinguished himself in command of the Dutch cavalry at the battle of the Boyne in 1690, and he was also present at the battle of Landen in 1693, and at the siege of Namur in 1695. Along with marshal de Bouflers he prepared the terms of the peace of Ryswick in 1697, and shortly afterwards was appointed ambassador -extraordinary to Paris. Notwithstanding his diplomatic skill, his grave and cold manner rendered him unpopular with the English nobility, and his brusque honesty caused him to be sometimes wanting in outward respect to the king. Gradually his influence at the court was supplanted by that of the earl of Albemarle, who was more skilled in the arts of popularity; and in 1700, notwithstanding the efforts of the king to soothe his wounded vanity, he resigned his offices and retired to his seat at Bulstrode, Bucks, where he occupied his leisure in gardening and in works of charity. For receiving grants of land in Ireland, and for his share in the partition treaty, he was impeached by parliament, but the prosecution did not succeed. He died 23d November 1709, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

PORTLAND, WILLIAM HENRY CAVENDISH BENTINCK, THIRD DUKE OF (1738-1809), prime minister of England, was the grandson of Henry, second earl and first duke of Portland, who was son of William, first earl. He was born 14th April 1738, and was educated at Oxford university, where he graduated M.A. in 1757. In 1761 he was elected to represent the borough of Weobly (Hereford) in parliament, but in May of the following year he was called to the Upper House on the death of his father. Under the marquis of Rockingham he was, from July 1765 to July 1766, lord chamberlain, and on the return of the marquis of Rockingham to power in 1782 he was made lord-lieutenant of Ireland. After the short ministry of Shelburne, succeeding the death of Rockingham, the duke of Portland was selected by Fox and North as a &quot; convenient cipher &quot; to become the head of the coalition ministry, to the formation of which the king was with great reluctance compelled to give his assent. The duke held the premiership from 5th April 1783 until the defeat of the Bill for &quot; the just and efficient government of British India&quot; caused his dismissal from office on 17th December. In 1792 he succeeded the earl of Guildford as chancellor of the university of Oxford. Under Pitt he was, from 1794 to 1801, secretary of state for the home department, after which he was, from 1801 to 1805, pre sident of the council. In 1807 he was appointed a second time first lord of the treasury. Ill-health caused him to resign in September 1809, and he died 30th October following. He owed his political influence chiefly to his rank, his mild disposition, and his personal integrity, for his talents were in no sense brilliant, and he was deficient in practical energy as well as in intellectual grasp.

PORTLAND CEMENT. See BUILDING, vol. iv. p. 459, and CEMENTS, vol. v. p. 328.

PORTLAND VASE. See GLASS, vol. x. p. 649.

PORT LOUIS. See MAURITIUS, vol. xv. p. 640.

PORT LYTTELTON, a municipal borough of New Zealand, formerly called Port Cooper and Port Victoria, lies on the north-west side of Banks Peninsula, on the east coast of South Island. The town, situated in 43 36 S. lat. and 172 44 E. long., stands on the north shore of a small bay 4 miles south-west from the heads. A fixed