This volume discusses a short history of British Colonial policy. With all its faults the book represents much reading and some thought. In writing what is, to some extent, a history of opinion, it has been impossible altogether to suppress my own individual opinions. I trust, however that I have not seemed to attach importance to them. In dealing with the later periods, I remembered Sir Walter Raleigh's remark on the fate which awaits the treatment of contemporary history; but obscurity may claim its compensations, and atleast I am not conscious of having written under the bias of personal or party prejudice.
Excerpt from A Short History of British Colonial Policy In spite of all that has been recently written on the South African question, I am not without hopes that the portion of this book relating to it may be of some slight use. The subject has been generally approached either from the point of View of the experienced observer on the spot or of the partisan of some particular policy; my aim has been to bring out from the Parliamentary Papers how largely the present is the heritage of the past. Pace Mr H. M. Stanley, it does not follow that because we are convinced that Great Britain must remain paramount in South Africa, we need therefore refuse any sympathy to Dutch grievances, which are largely due to the mistakes and hesitations of English statesmen in the past. In a volume which deals with a long period of time and many scattered events, there are doubtless mistakes and inaccuracies. For such I would pray pardon in anticipation. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Excerpt from A Short History of British Colonial Policy In these latter days when the plague of book-making has taken its place, along with influenza, among the blessings of an advanced civilization, the appearance of any volume, not vouched by an author of eminence, requires a word of apology. Perhaps, however, the standpoint of the present work affords it some justification. There are, of course, various books dealing with various phases of Colonial Policy, or with such policy for some particular period, but there is no book which deals with the subject systematically on historical lines, while in the regular histories the subject of policy naturally takes subordinate and incidental position. The point of view the book explains its method. Where a narrative of events is concerned, it is the duty of the author to weigh his authorities, and from them to evolve his own story; but, where we are dealing with the history of opinions, it is desirable, as far as possible, to allow the authorities to speak for themselves. This must be my excuse for a plentiful employment of quotations: there appearing little advantage in the method which makes the text a bald summary and throws the living interest of a book into its footnotes. In dealing with the history of Colonial Policy, there is one preliminary objection which must be met. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
