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 "dirt-bed" 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 "church
gift " (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
" convenient cipher " 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 " the just and efficient government of
British India" 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
