402 JOURNAL OF THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION: 
one of the most important spots on the earth’s surface, a strong 
protecting force is needed until the reign of universal peace is 
proclaimed. 
The conclusions to be drawn from this report to the Plymouth 
Institution on the trade of the port, for it is more a report than a 
lecture, are, that London, Liverpool, Bristol, Glasgow, Dublin, and 
Belfast, being the greatest trading ports of the United Kingdom, 
Plymouth stands high in comparison with all others, supplying the 
wants of the very large district which constitutes the south-western 
counties of England. That as a harbour Plymouth is now, and 
has been for centuries, the means of affording protection to the 
merchant fleets of this nation in times of war, and a refuge for the 
fleets of all nations in times of peace. And that Plymouth is the 
favourite harbour from which the English race depart to carry 
their free institutions and energetic habits of industry to all quar- 
ters of the earth. We must be ceaseless in our endeavours to 
improve the harbour, and to adapt it to modern requirements, from 
the Eddystone, which ought to be a signal station, to every wharf 
or pier where the water reaches. And we must promote all im- 
provements in our railway communication inland. 
‘We must remember that we have a function to perform which is 
in accordance with the structure of this harbour, one of the finest 
and best situated harbours in the world, and that it is for us to 
adapt it to modern requirements. We must look seaward for our 
prosperity. 
