 The British government, dogmatically committed to a laissez-faire economic policy, castigated Temple for interfering in the workings of the market.He was appointed by the Viceroy as a plenipotentiary famine delegate to Madras during the famine of 1877 there.Seeing this appointment as an opportunity to "retrieve his reputation for extravagance in the last famine" Temple implemented relief policies that failed to relieve widespread starvation and prevent the death of millions.