1889 Carmarthenshire County Council election

1889 Carmarthenshire County Council election

All 68 seats to Carmarthenshire County Council 35 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Liberal Conservative Liberal Unionist Seats won 53/68 12/68 2/68 Councillors 39 9 2 Aldermen 14 3 0   Fourth party   Party Independent Seats won 1/68 Councillors 1 Aldermen 0
Council control after election Liberal Liberal Party

The first election to the Carmarthenshire County Council was held in January 1889. It was followed by the 1892 election.

Overview of the result

1889 was one of those landmark years in the history of Welsh Liberalism, a coming of age symbolized by the triumph across Wales of Liberal candidates in the inaugural county council elections.

Candidates

Most of the seats were contested by Liberal and Conservative candidates, although in a number of cases rival Liberals fought each other. The number of unopposed returns was small.

Outcome

There were a large number of contested elections and the majorities were small in most instances. The Liberals won a large majority of the seats with only nine Conservatives returned. There were also two Liberal Unionists, in Carmarthen and Llansteffan.

The Liberal victory was later auegmnented by the election of fourteen Liberals as aldermen, as opposed to three Conservatives.

This was the inaugural county election and therefore no comparison can be made with the previous elections. In some cases there is an ambiguity in the sources over the party affiliations and this is explained below where relevant.

Ward results

Abergwili

Abergwili 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	D.L. Jones	226
	Liberal	John Lloyd	221
Majority			5
	Liberal win (new seat)

Bettws

Bettws 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Nathaniel Jones	277
	Liberal	James Rees	230
Majority			46
	Liberal win (new seat)

Caio

Caio 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	C. Lewis Davies	240
	Conservative	Sir James Hills-Johnes	200
Majority			40
	Liberal win (new seat)

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Lower Division)

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Lower Division) 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Jenkins	235
	Conservative	H. Brunel White	230
Majority			5
	Liberal win (new seat)

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Upper Division)

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Upper Division) 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	H. Norton	213
	Liberal	Thomas Davies	192
Majority			21
	Liberal Unionist win (new seat)

Carmarthen Western Ward (Lower Division)

Carmarthen Western Ward (Lower Division) 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D.H. Thomas	170
	Liberal	W. de G. Warren	132
Majority			38
	Conservative win (new seat)

Carmarthen Western Ward (Upper Division)

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Lower Division) 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	D. Rixon Morgan	251
	Conservative	James Phillips	182
Majority			69
	Liberal win (new seat)

Cenarth

Cenarth 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Davies	239
	Conservative	H.W.T. Howell	165
Majority
	Liberal win (new seat)

Cilycwm

Cilycwm 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rev Thomas Evans	156
	Conservative	R. Campbell-Davys	137
	Liberal Unionist	D.G. Vaughan	63
Majority			19
	Liberal win (new seat)

Conwil

Conwil 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Jones	265
	Conservative	Thomas Davies	121
Majority			144
	Liberal win (new seat)

Kidwelly

Kidwelly 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Daniel Stephens	135
	Liberal Unionist	T.W.A. Evans	85
	Conservative	D.J. John	28
Majority			50
	Liberal win (new seat)

Laugharne

Laugharne 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John D. Morse	145
	Conservative	E. Falkener	128
Majority			17
	Liberal win (new seat)

Llanarthney

Llanarthney 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Davies	217
	Liberal	Rev D.S. Davies	159
	Conservative	Rev R.G. Lawrence	62
Majority			58
	Conservative win (new seat)

Llandebie

Llandebie 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lord Dynevor	260
	Liberal	David Richards	186
Majority			74
	Conservative win (new seat)

Llandilo Rural

Llandilo Rural 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Powell	351
	Conservative	Herbert Peel	202
Majority			149
	Liberal win (new seat)

Llandilo Urban

Llandilo Urban 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	J.W. Gwynne Hughes	174
	Conservative	John Thomas	120
Majority			54
	Liberal win (new seat)

Llandovery

Llandovery 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Col. D.E. Jones	Unopposed
	Conservative win (new seat)

Llanedy

Llanedy 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Evan Evans	Unopposed
	Liberal win (new seat)

Llanegwad

Llanegwad 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	H.J. Thomas	330
	Conservative	Henry Davies	109
	Conservative	A.W. Stokes	62
Majority			221
	Liberal win (new seat)

Llanelly Rural and Ward No.1 (six seats)

Llanelly Rural and Ward No.1 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Gwilym Evans	1,402
	Liberal	Joseph Mayberry	1,332
	Liberal	Henry Wilkins	1,330
	Liberal	Owen Bonville	1,234
	Liberal	Thomas Jenkins	1,212
	Liberal	Rev P. Phillips	1,139
	Independent	Hugh Nevill	776
	Conservative	James Buckley	756
	Conservative	Ernest Trubshaw	722
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)

Llanelly Ward No.2 (three seats)

Llanelly Ward No.2 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Phillips	774
	Liberal	W.J. Wilson	715
	Liberal	D.C. Parry	659
	Conservative	Dr Henry J. Buckley	553
	Liberal Unionist	John A. Williams	483
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)

Llanelly Ward No.3 (two seats)

Llanelly Ward No.3 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Bourne	Unopposed
	Conservative	J.S. Tregoning	Unopposed
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Llanfihangel Aberbythick

Llanfihangel Aberbythick 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Viscount Emlyn	Unopposed
	Conservative win (new seat)

Llanfihangel-ar-Arth

Llanfihangel-ar-Arth 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Evan Harries	Unopposed
	Liberal win (new seat)

Llangadock

Llangadock 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Jenkins	270
	Liberal	W.N. Lewis	213
Majority			57
	Liberal win (new seat)

Llangeler

Llangeler 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Lewis	268
	Conservative	Arthur Howell Jones	260
Majority			8
	Liberal win (new seat)

Llangendeirne

Llangendeirne 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Evans	Unopposed
	Liberal win (new seat)

Llangennech

Llangennech 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	J. Glyn Thomas	202
	Conservative	Rev E.A. Davies	111
Majority			91
	Liberal win (new seat)

Llangunnor

Llangunnor 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	C.E. Morris	190
	Conservative	David Evan Stephens	169
Majority			21
	Liberal win (new seat)

Llanon

Llanon 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rev W.E. Evans	146
	Conservative	Major Edward Riley	90
Majority			56
	Liberal win (new seat)

Llansawel

Llansawel 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir J.H.W. Drummond, Bart.	Unopposed
	Conservative win (new seat)

Llanstephan

Thomas Morris of Coomb was the son of William Morris, former Liberal MP for Carmarthen Boroughs.

Llanstephan 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Thomas Morris	197
	Liberal	John Johns	157
Majority			40
	Liberal Unionist win (new seat)

Llanybyther

Llanybyther 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Col. H. Davies-Evans	267
	Liberal	D.H. James	246
Majority			21
	Conservative win (new seat)

Mothvey

Mothvey 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Jones	176
	Liberal	John Lewis	136
Majority			40
	Liberal win (new seat)

Pembrey (two seats)

Pembrey 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Liberal	W.J. Buckley	176
	Liberal	William Howell	460
	Liberal	Rev D. Evans	397
	Conservative	T. Williams	394
	Independent Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)

Quarter Bach

Quarter Bach 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Dr Howell Rees	Unopposed
	Liberal win (new seat)

Rhydcymmerai

Rhydcymmerai 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Daniel Evans	165
	Liberal	Thomas Price	143
Majority			22
	Liberal win (new seat)

St Clears

St Clears 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	T. Evans	Unopposed
	Liberal win (new seat)

St Ishmael

J. Lewis Philipps of Bolahaul, near Carmarthen, had been a prominent figure in county government for many years and was chairman of the Carmarthen Board of Guardians from 1861 until 1884.

St Ishmael 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Lewis Philipps	203
	Liberal	Evan Stephens	180
Majority			23
	Conservative win (new seat)

Trelech

Trelech 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	J. Davies	245
	Liberal	W. Phillips	181
	Conservative	D. Jones	108
Majority			40
	Liberal win (new seat)

Whitland and Llanboidy (two seats)

Whitland and Llanboidy 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rev. William Thomas	582
	Liberal	John Llewelyn	452
	Liberal	J. Bagnall Evans	321
	Conservative	J. Beynon	206
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)

Election of Aldermen

In addition to the 51 councillors the council consisted of 17 county aldermen. Aldermen were elected by the council, and served a six-year term. Following the election of the initial sixteen aldermen, half of the aldermanic bench would be elected every three years following the triennial council election. After the initial elections, there were seventeen aldermanic vacancies and the following aldermen were appointed by the newly elected council (with the number of votes cast recorded in each case). A second vote was held to determine which aldermen should retire in three years.

Elected for six years

• John James, Llandovery (from outside the Council) 40
• W.O. Brigstocke JP, Liberal (from outside the Council) 38
• David Randell MP, Liberal (from outside the Council) 38
• Dr J.A. Jones, Llanelly, Liberal (from outside the Council) 37
• H. Nevill, Llanelli, Conservative (from outside the Council) 36
• T. Williams, Llwynhendy, Liberal (from outside the Council) 33
• D. Richards, Ammanford, Liberal (defeated candidate at Llandebie) 30
• Joseph Joseph, Liberal (from outside the Council) 27
• W.R. Edwards, Carmarthen, Liberal (from outside the Council)

Elected for three years

• Col. Gwynnne Hughes JP, Liberal (from outside the Council) 36
• J. Lewis Philipps, Carmarthen, Conservative (elected councillor for St Ishmaels) 35
• Sir James Hills-Johnes, Conservative (defeated candidate at Caeo) 35
• W. de G. Warren, Tenby, Liberal (from outside the Council) 34
• Robert Scourfield, Llanstephan, Liberal (from outside the Council) 33
• D. Bowen, Llandeilo, Liberal (from outside the Council) 32
• J. Bagnall Evans JP, Liberal (defeated candidate at Whitland and Llanboidy) 31
• D. James, Bailibedw, Liberal (from outside the Council) 31

As in Cardiganshire the Liberals agreed that the Conservatives be allocated three aldermanic seats only. Only John Lewis Philipps was an elected member of the council.

Initially, Lewis Morris had been elected an alderman but he declined on the basis that he had no sufficient time at his disposal. He was then replaced by W.R. Edwards at the second meeting of the council.

Aldermanic Vacanies, 1889-1892

David Bowen died a few weeks after his election as alderman, The council resolved to replace him with another representative from the Llandeilo area to serve for the remainder of the three-year term.

• Morgan Davies, Llandeilo, Liberal (from outside the Council)

Two vacancies arose in early 1891 following the resignation of W de G Warren and the death of J. Lewis Philipps. The vacancies were filled as follows:

• C.E. Morris, Liberal (elected member for Llangunnor)
• David Evans, Llanelli, Liberal

As a result of these changes there was one additional Liberal alderman at the expense of the Conservatives.

Morgan Davies died in February 1892, shortly before the end of his term as alderman.

By-elections, 1889-1892

St Ishmaels by-election, 1889

In contrast to the position in other counties only one by-election was caused by the election of aldermen. This was in St Ishmaels where, following the election of John Lewis Philipps as an alderman the Liberal candidate captured the seatafter a contest that took place in heavy snow.

St Ishmaels by-election 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	J. Lloyd Thomas	276
	Conservative	D.T. Morris	98

Llanarthney by-election, 1889

Thomas Davies, Bremenda, the member for Llanarthney, died in August 1889 as a result of injuries sustained falling off his horse. Rev R.G. Lawrence of Middleton Hall, an unsuccessful candidate at the election held earlier in the year was returned unopposed.

Llanarthney by-election 1889

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rev R.G. Lawrence	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

Pembrey by-election, 1890

A by-election arose in the Pembrey ward following the appointment of William Howell as returning officer for the county.

Carmarthen Western Ward (Upper Division) by-election, 1890

D. Rixon Morgan, the sitting member, resigned late in 1890. Professor D.E. Jones of the Presbyterian College, Carmarthen, was chosen as his replacement as Liberal candidate.

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Lower Division) by-election, 1890

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Professor D.E. Jones	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Liberal hold