FOREWORD.
By Lieutenant-Colonel Tatham, K.C., D.S .0., T.D.
Miss Buchanan has asked me to write a fore-word to the interesting and informative work she has compiled of the earlier history of Natal, viewed mainly from the domestic side. There is a dearth of recorded information about Natal, the first Colony to be added to the British Empire during the long reign of Queen Victoria. Natal like the rest of South Africa has been the cockpit of strife between conflicting ideals, now happily ended.
Miss Buchanan is peculiarly fitted for the task to which she set herself, for she is a member of a family which has played a notable and honoured part in the development of those characteristics of Natalians which have produced the sturdy self-reliance so outstanding a feature of the British people. Moreover her own life has been spent mainly in Natal, and she has taken an active and personal part in helping to mould the character of the people of Natal.
While her book will have special interest for those who shared the labours and hardships of Natals early days, it is valuable as a preservation of events from a point of view not ordinarily presented by historians who concern themselves mainly with political history and avoid details of domestic concern, which after all play a large part in shaping the destiny of a community. Miss Buchanan has written in a free and natural style which adds greatly to the charm of her book.
