federal arena, was chosen to replace him. Welensky took office on 1 November. Prime Minister On taking office, Welensky was forced to take sides in the Suez Crisis. The government of the United Kingdom received heavy international criticism for its actions, but Welensky's government, with those of Australia and New Zealand, nonetheless stood behind Britain. It was Welensky's first experience in international politics. In the aftermath of the Suez debacle British colonial policy changed significantly, which would have adverse effects for the Federation. It marked the decline of a gradual approach to decolonisation, and a rapid speeding up of the process. Politically, only three years after its founding, the federation began to decline. International attitudes to the Federation were critical, particularly from the Afro-Asian bloc in the United Nations. At a time when most colonial powers were rushing their colonies towards independence, the Federation seemed to its opponents to be an unwelcome obstacle. In Britain, Labour grew more critical, and African nationalists in the federation itself became more vocal, dissatisfied with the liberalisation that was taking place, and demanding faster moves towards African advancement. The Governor of Northern Rhodesia, Sir Arthur Benson, wrote a secret letter to his superiors in Britain, highly critical of Welensky and the federation; this letter remained undiscovered until 1958, when Huggins revealed it to Welensky. Nyasaland unrest The Colonial Secretary Alan Lennox-Boyd visited the Federation in January 1957, while Welensky prepared to outline the difficulties regarding African advancement. Seeking to bring Africans into the established political processes, and hoping they would shun the recently formed African National Congress (ANC) parties, Welensky hit out at what he saw as the poor Colonial Office practice of making the situation "[consist] of two opposed policies, black rule and white rule. They naturally prefer to aim for black rule and hope they will experience this, which they regard as the apotheosis of Colonial Office policy". The Nyasaland African Congress (NAC) was particularly vocal about increased African representation in the Nyasaland Legislative Council, demanding in September 1957 an African majority in the council. Nyasaland's inclusion in the Federation was never a goal of its proponents, it was there primarily because it was not economically viable by itself. Welensky did not understand or appreciate the party's goal of increased African representation or secession when it relied on the Federation for its well being. Hastings Banda, the leader of the Nyasaland nationalist