PREFATORY NOTE. THIS work was undertaken at the request of Dr. Buchanan's family. I was also urged to it by many of his most intimate friends in the Church, and in a way that made it impossible for me to decline the undertaking. I do not, however, propose to make any apology for the manner in which the work has been executed; it must, of course, be left to be judged on its own merits. Dr. Buchanan's public career stretches over a remarkable epoch, from 1827 to 1875,-and in his Diaries he has left most interesting notices of the politico-ecclesiastical negotiations of the period. These have been embodied in the work, and of themselves add greatly to its value. I am anxious to take advantage of the opportunity afforded in a Preface to express my special obligations to D. Maclagan, Esq., of Edinburgh, and Dr. James Walker of Carnwath. Both of them read the proof-sheets as they passed through the Press; and as both have a peculiarly intimate acquaintance with the ecclesiastical history of the period through which Dr. Buchanan lived, there was scarcely a single chapter in connection with which I did not benefit by their suggestions and advice. NORMAN L. WALKER. DYSART, May 1877. |