Excerpt from The Reconstruction of the New Colonies Under Lord Milner, Vol. 1 of 2: From the Vereeniging Agreement, 31st May 1902, to the Introduction of Chinese Labour, June 1904 The source of what is most original and valuable in the information contained in this work is the very complete collection of papers relating to the period 1902-5, which is in Lord Milner's possession. My primary and deepest obligation is, therefore, to him: first, for his confidence in permitting me to have access to these papers and to his private diaries; and secondly, for the unfailing kindness which he has shown to me - a kindness all the more remarkable in view of the many demands upon his time - during the six years that I have been engaged upon the preparation of these volumes. There is, of course, much that is of interest, both literary and historical, in the private correspondence that cannot be published now. Some of this material must rank as arcana imperii, which cannot be divulged without doing injury to the State; some of it, again, would, if published, deal needless wounds, or re-awaken contentions long forgotten. Indeed, it is impossible not to recognise that in the present age, when the obligation of reticence is so widely observed, the writing of the history of our own times - that is, of a frank, complete, and impartial statement of all the vital facts capable of proof - has become increasingly difficult. Fifty years hence the historian will be free to record the most confidential documents of to-day; and to this extent he will be better equipped than the contemporary writer. 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.