customs district. In 1908 its exports were valued at $16,958,080 and its imports at $4,859,120 The city has shipyards, dry docks, large shops of the Grand Trunk railway, publishing houses, and manufactories of agricultural implements, steel ships, automobiles, foundry products, paper and pulp, and toys. In 1904 the city's factory products were valued at $4,789,589.
In 1686 the French established Fort St Joseph, a fortified trading post, which came into the possession of the British in 1761 and was occupied by American troops in 1814. The fort was renamed Fort Gratiot in honour of General Charles Gratiot (1788–1855), who was chief-engineer in General W. H. Harrison's army in 1813–1814, and was chief-engineer of the U.S. Army in 1828–1838. The settlement which grew up round the fort, and was organized as a village in 1840, was also known as Fort Gratiot, and was annexed to Port Huron in 1893. The fort was abandoned during 1837–1848, during 1852–1866, and, permanently, in 1879. The earliest permanent settlement, in what later became Port Huron, was made in 1790 by several French families. This settlement, distinct from that at the fort, was first called La Rivière De Lude, and, after 1828, Desmond. It was platted in 1835, incorporated as a village in 1840 (under its present name), and chartered as a city in 1857.
PORTICI, a town of Campania, Italy, in the province of Naples,
5 m. S.E. of Naples by rail, on the shores of the bay, and at the
foot of Vesuvius. Pop. (1901), 14,239. The palace, erected in
1738, is traversed by the high road. It once contained the
antiquities from Herculaneum, now removed to Naples, and since
1882 it has been a government school of agriculture. There is a
small harbour. Just beyond Portici, on the south east, is Resina
(pop, in 1901, 20,182), on the site of the ancient Herculaneum,
with several fine modern villas. The inhabitants are engaged
in fishing, silk-growing and silk-weaving. The town was completely
destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 1631.
PORTICO (Ital. for “ porch,” Lat. porticus), a term in
architecture for the covered entrance porch to a building, which
is carried by columns, and either constitutes the whole front of
the building, as in the Greek and Roman temples, or forms an
important feature, as the portico of the Pantheon at Rome
attached to the rotunda. A circular projecting portico, such
as those to the north and south transepts of St Paul's Cathedral,
and that which forms the west entrance of St Mary le Strand, is
known as cyclostyle. The term porticus is used to distinguish
the entrance portico in an amphiprostylar or peripteral temple
from that behind which is called the posticum.
PORTIÈRE, a hanging placed over a door, as its French name
implies, or over the doorless entrance to a room. From the
East, where doors are still rare, it came to Europe at a remote
date—it is known to have been in use in the West in the 14th
century, and was probably introduced much earlier. Like so
many other domestic plenishings, it reached England by way of
France, where it appears to have been originally called rideau
de parte. It is still extensively used either as an ornament or as
a means of mitigating draughts. It is usually of some heavy
material, such as velvet, brocade, or plush, and is often fixed
upon a brass arm, moving in a socket with the opening and closing
of the door.
PORT JACKSON, or Sydney Harbour, a harbour of New
South Wales, Australia. It is one of the safest and most
beautiful harbours in the world; its area, including all its bays, is about 15 sq. m., with a shore line of 165 m.; it has deep water
in every part, and is landlocked and secure in all weathers.
The entrance, between two rocky promontories known as North
and South Heads, is 2¼ m. wide between the outer heads, and
narrows down to 1 m. 256 yds. The port is flanked on both
sides by promontories, so that, in addition to a broad and deep
central channel, there is a series of sheltered bays with good
anchorage. Sydney lies on the southern shore about 4 m. from
the Heads. Port Jackson is the chief naval dépot of Australasia,
the headquarters of the admiral's station, and is strongly fortified.
The harbour has a number of islands, most of which are used for
naval or government purposes—Shark Island is the quarantine
station, Garden Island has naval foundries, hospital and stores,
Goat Island is occupied by a powder magazine, Spectacle Island
is used to store explosives, and on Cockatoo Island are important
government docks. Port Jackson was discovered by Captain
Phillip in 1788, though in 1770 Captain Cook, when coasting
north, noticed what looked like an inlet, and named it after Sir
George Jackson, one of the secretaries to the Admiralty. Captain
Cook passed the harbour without recognizing its capacity; but
the cliffs which guard the entrance are 300 ft. high, and no view
of the basin can be seen from the masthead. Middle Head,
which is opposite the entrance, closes it in, and it is necessary
to enter, turn to the south, and then to the west before the best
part of the harbour discloses itself.
PORT JERVIS, a city of Orange county, New York, U.S.A., on the Delaware river, at its junction with the Neversink, 88 m.
N.W. of New York city by rail, and at the intersection of the
boundary lines of the states of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Pop. (1900), 9385, of whom 895 were foreign-born;
(1910 census), 9564. It is served by the Erie and the New
York, Ontario & Western railways. The beauty of the scenery
in its vicinity has made the city a summer resort. At Port
Jervis are situated the extensive shops of the Erie railway.
Among the manufactures are wearing apparel, silk, glass, and
silver ware. The value of the factory products increased from
$1,009,081 in 1900 to $1,635,215 in 1905, or 62%. Port
Jervis was laid out in 1826, soon after work began on the Delaware
& Hudson Canal; it owes its origin to that waterway (now
abandoned), and was named in honour of John Bloomfield Jervis
(1795–1885), the engineer who constructed the canal, who, in
1836, was in charge of the construction of the Croton Aqueduct,
and wrote Railway Property (1859) and The Construction and
Management of Railways (1861). Port Jervis was incorporated
as a village in 1853, and was chartered as a city in 1907.
PORTLAND, EARL OF, an English title held by the family of Weston from 1633 to 1688, and by the family of Bentinck
from 1689 to 1716, when it was merged in that of duke of Portland.
Sir Richard Weston (1577-1635), according to Clarendon
“ a gentleman of very ancient extraction by father and mother, ”
was the son and heir of Sir Jerome Weston (c. 1550-1603) of
Skreens, in Roxwell, Essex, his grandfather being Richard
Weston (d. 1572) justice of the common pleas. A member of
parliament during the reigns of James I. and Charles I., Sir
Richard was sent abroad by James on two occasions to negotiate
on behalf of the elector palatine Frederick V.; after the murder
of the duke of Buckingham, he became the principal counsellor
of Charles I. In 1628 he was created Baron Weston of Neyland
and in 1633 earl, of Portland. Having in 1625 and 1626 had
experience in the difficult task of obtaining money for the royal
needs from the House of Commons, Weston was made lord high
treasurer in 1628. His own inclinations and the obstacles in
the way of raising money made him an advocate of a policy of
peace and neutrality. His conduct was frequently attacked in
parliament, but he retained both his office and the confidence
of the king until his death on the 13th of March 1635. His son
Jerome, the 2nd earl (1605-1663), was imprisoned for plotting
in the interests of Charles I. in 1643, and was nominally president
of Munster from 1644 to 166O. He sat in the convention
parliament of, 1660. He was succeeded by his son Charles
(1639-1665), who- was killed in a sea-fight with the Dutch off the
Texel, and then by his brother Thomas (1609-1688), who died
in poverty at Louvain, when the title became extinct. In 1689
it was revived by William III., who bestowed it upon his favourite William Bentinck (see below.)
Sir Richard Weston must be distinguished from a contemporary and namesake, Sir Richard Weston (c. 1579-1652), baron of the exchequer. Another Sir Richard Weston (c. 1466-1542) was a courtier and a diplomatist under Henry VIII.; his son was Sir Francis Weston (c. 1511-1536), who was beheaded for his alleged adultery with Anne Boleyn. This Sir Richard had a brother, Sir William Weston (d. 1540), who distinguished himself at the defence of Rhodes in 1522, and was afterwards prior of the Knights of St John in England. A third Sir Richard Weston (1591-1652), was mainly responsible for introducing locks on the Wey and thus making this river navigable.
Another family of Weston produced Robert Weston (c. 1515-1573), lord chancellor of Ireland from 1566 until his death on the
