On the 29th of June 1871 Lieutenant-General Sir William Jervois read a paper on 'The Supremacy of the Navy for Imperial Defence.' at the United Service Institution. Jervois held that that the aim of all Britain's coastal fortifications, extending from Portsmouth to New Zealand was the protection of Britain's naval stations and harbours forming bases for naval operations. He considered that the sums spent on them on the recommendations of Lord Palmerston's Commission of 1859 were a necessary and sound investment.