Nyasaland almost universal rejection of Federation. Finally, it suggested that the British government should negotiate with African leaders on the country's constitutional future. The Devlin Commission's report is the only example of a British judge examining whether the actions of a colonial administration in suppressing dissent were appropriate. Devlin's conclusions that excessive force was used and that Nyasaland was a "police state" caused political uproar. His report was largely rejected and the state of emergency lasted until June 1960. At first, the British government tried to calm the situation by nominating additional African members (who were not Malawi Congress Party supporters)
Nyasaland Famine 1949 was done in Nyasaland to encourage the production and distribution of food. Although town dwellers needed to purchase their food, little was grown commercially, as towns were few and small and transport was expensive. It was left to African smallholders and tenants sell their surpluses on local markets and for small-scale African entrepreneurs to distribute food over limited areas. In normal years, most farmers had only small surpluses to sell in local markets. In addition, government policies had a disincentive effect on maize production. The Nyasaland government made a number of wartime emergency regulations to control agricultural production, and it