1904 Carmarthenshire County Council election

1904 Carmarthenshire County Council election
← 1901 1907 →
All 68 seats to Carmarthenshire County Council; 35 seats needed for a majority
	Council control after election ; Liberal; Liberal Party

The sixth election to the Carmarthenshire County Council was held in March 1904.^[1] It was preceded by the 1901 election and followed by the 1907 election.

Overview of the result

The Liberals retained a strong majority with a majority of members returned unopposed.^[2] From the outset the election was dominated by the debate over the implementation of the 1902 Education Act, which was fiercely opposed by the radical wing of the Welsh Liberal Party.

Candidates

The election was fought on more explicitly political lines, largely as a result of the way the education question dominated the election. Following the nominations, the Liberals already had a majority due to the number of candidates returned unopposed.^[3] These included all eight candidates in the Llanelli Urban area, including Joseph Roberts, who was returned unopposed, with the support of the local Trades and Labour Council, for the division previously represented by the veteran tinplate leader, Tom Phillips, who retired due to ill health.^[3]^{[n 1]}

Two sitting members, Col. J.W. Gwynne Hughes of Tregib, chairman of the council and his kinsman, Colonel Gwynne Hughes of Glancothy, stood as Unionists due to the education question.

Only six of those elected at the first election, and who had served continuously since then, sought re-election. None of the retiring aldermen stood as candidates.

Outcome

There were a number of changes. At Laugharne, J.D. Morse, the member since 1889, was defeated by a Conservative while the Liberals captured seats from the Conservatives at Carmarthen, Llandovery and St Clears. Colonel Gwynne Hughes of Glancothy was defeated by a Liberal at Llanegwad.

The Liberals took all nine of the vacant aldermanic seats, with both J.S. Tregoining and Sir James Hills-Johnes receiving small numbers of votes.

Abergwili

Abergwili 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	John Lloyd*	296
	Conservative	H.W. Pryse	125
Majority
	Liberal hold		Swing

Bettws

Bettws 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	William Nathaniel Jones*	527
	Liberal	Tom Jones	505
Majority
	Liberal hold		Swing

Caio

Caio 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	T. Francis Jones*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Lower Division)

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Lower Division) 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	T.E. Brigstocke*	268
	Liberal	H.W. Thomas	207
Majority
	Conservative hold		Swing

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Upper Division)

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Upper Division) 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Rev Andrew Fuller-Mills*	255
	Conservative	D. Davies	135
Majority
	Liberal hold		Swing

Carmarthen Western Ward (Lower Division)

Carmarthen Western Ward (Lower Division) 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	John Lewis	162
	Conservative	James John*	159
Majority			3
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

Carmarthen Western Ward (Upper Division)

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Lower Division) 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Professor D.E. Jones*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Cenarth

Cenarth 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Davies*	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Cilycwm

Cilycwm 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Rees*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Conwil

Conwil 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Jones*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Kidwelly

Kidwelly 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alfred Stephens*	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Laugharne

Laugharne 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Unionist	Richard Evans	185
	Liberal	John D. Morse*	152
Majority			33
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

Llanarthney

Llanarthney 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Jones-Davies*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanboidy

David Thomas had been elected as a Conservative in 1901.

Llanboidy 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	David Thomas*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llandebie

Llandebie 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	David Davies*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llandilo Rural

William Jones had been elected as an Independent at previous elections.

Llandilo Rural 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Jones*	unopposed
	Liberal gain from Independent		Swing

Llandilo Urban

Gwynne Hughes had previously sat as a Liberal.

Llandilo Urban 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	J.W. Gwynne Hughes*	unopposed
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

Llandovery

Llandovery 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	J.R. James	193
	Conservative	Walter Powell Jeffreys*	105
Majority
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

Llanedy

Llanedy 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	John Ll. Thomas*	280
	Conservative	R.H. Sampson	210
Majority			70
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanegwad

Gwynne Hughes had previously sat as a Liberal and failed to defend the seat as an Unionist.

Llanegwad 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	D.J. Harries	257
	Unionist	Col. W. Gwynne Hughes*	210
Majority
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing

Llanelly Division 1

Llanelly Division 1 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	W. Griffiths	unopposed
	Unionist hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 2

Llanelly Division 2 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	W. Williams	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 3

Llanelly Division.3 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William David*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 4

Llanelly Division 4 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rev Thomas Johns*	Unopposed	*N/A*	*N/A*
	Liberal hold

Llanelly Division 5

Llanelly Division 5 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	D.C. Parry*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 6

Llanelly Division 6 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Joseph Roberts	Unopposed
Majority
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 7

Llanelly Division 7 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Jones*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 8

Llanelly Division 8 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Joseph Williams*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanelly Rural, Berwick

Llanelly Rural, Berwick 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	D. Harry	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanelly Rural, Hengoed

Llanelly Rural, Hengoed 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	David John*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanelly Rural, Westfa and Glyn

Llanelly Rural, Westfa and Glyn 1904
	Candidate	Votes
Liberal	Rev B. Humphreys	293
Liberal	Rev John Evans	129
Liberal hold		Swing

Llanfihangel Aberbythick

Llanfihangel Aberbythick 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Earl Cawdor*	Unopposed	*N/A*	*N/A*
	Conservative hold

Llanfihangel-ar-Arth

Llanfihangel-ar-Arth 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Barrett*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llangadock

Llangadock 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Davies*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llangeler

Llangeler 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Colonel W.P. Lewes*	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Llangendeirne

Llangendeirne 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Jenkins*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llangennech

Llangennech 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	T. Thomas	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llangunnor

Llangunnor 1904
	Candidate	Votes
Liberal	C.E. Morris*	182
Conservative	David Evan Stephens	160
Liberal hold		Swing

Llanon

Llanon 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Morgan Jones*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llansawel

Llansawel 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir J.H.W. Drummond, Bart.*	Unopposed	*N/A*	*N/A*
	Conservative hold

Llanstephan

Llanstephan 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Johns*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanybyther

Williams was one of two Liberal candidates in 1901 when both polled the same number of votes and Williams lost on the toss of a coin.

Llanybyther 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	J. Thomas	266
	Conservative	David Williams	234
Majority			32
	Liberal hold		Swing

Mothvey

Mothvey 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	David Davies*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Pembrey North

Pembrey North 1904
	Candidate	Votes
Liberal	Rev J.H. Rees*	272
Liberal	Dr J.H. Williams	174
Unionist	Rev W.G. Williams	129
Liberal hold		Swing

Pembrey South

This ward was not recorded in the local press.

Pembrey South 1901
	Candidate	Votes
Conservative	Thomas F. Wilkins	391
	John G. Thomas	148
Conservative hold		Swing

Quarter Bach

Quarter Bach 1904
	Candidate	Votes
Liberal	W.J. Williams	296
Liberal	Gwilym Vaughan	289
Liberal hold		Swing

Rhydcymmerai

Rhydcymmerai 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Benjamin Evans*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

St Clears

Dr Thomas had sat as a Conservative but was said to have fought this election as a 'radical'.

St Clears 1904
	Candidate	Votes
Liberal	J. Lewis	253
Liberal	Dr R.L. Thomas*	182
Independent	Capt. D.J. Powell	28
Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

St Ishmael

St Ishmael 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Lloyd Thomas*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Trelech

Trelech 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	W. Thomas	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Whitland

Whitland 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	J. Scourfield*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

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 elections the following nine aldermen were elected (with the number of votes recorded in each case).

The following retiring aldermen were re-elected:

John Williams, retiring alderman (47)
John Lewis, retiring alderman (45)
D.L. Jones, retiring alderman (42)
R.W. Stephens, retiring alderman (48)
John Rees, retiring alderman (42)
Rev William Davies, retiring alderman (42)

In addition, two new aldermen were elected:

W.N. Jones, elected member for Betws (46)
Thomas Jones, elected member for Llanelli Ward 7 (42)
Rev Thomas Johns, elected member for Llanelli Ward 4 (42

Four retiring aldermen were not re-elected:

J.S. Tregoning, Iscoed, Conservative
Rev. W. Thomas, Whitland, Liberal
David Evans, Llangennech, Liberal
James Hill-Johnes, Dolaucothy, Conservative

All the elected aldermen were supported by the majority of members.^[4]

By-elections between 1904 and 1907

Betws by-election 1904

A by-election was held on 23 April due to the elevation of W.N. Jones to the aldermanic bench. The Rev. Towyn Jones, Garnant, consented to stand after two public meetings at Ammanford and in Cwmamman and was expected to be returned unopposed. However, he was opposed by David John Jones, an Ammanford ironmonger and a prominent Congregationalist, who refused to withdraw. After a contest between two Liberals which involved the local MP, Abel Thomas, Towyn Jones was elected by a relatively comfortable majority.^[5]

Betws by-election 1904
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	J. Towyn Jones	611
	Liberal	David John Jones	416
Majority			195
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Notes

^ Joseph Roberts was the nominee of the Trades and Labour Council and was described in some sources as a Labour candidate.

References

^ "Carmarthenshire County Council Elections. Sweeping Victory for the National Policy". Carmarthen Weekly Reporter. 11 March 1904. p. 1. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
^ "County Council Nominations". Carmarthen Journal. 4 March 1904. p. 5. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
^ ^a ^b "The Pending Fight (editorial)". Llanelly Mercury. 3 March 1904. p. 4. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
^ "Carmarthenshire County Council. Statutory Meeting". Carmarthen Journal. 18 March 1904. p. 5. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
^ "Amman Valley Bye-Election. Return of the Rev. Towyn Jones". Carmarthen Weekly Reporter (supplement). 29 April 1904. p. 1. Retrieved 23 March 2023.

[4] Joseph Roberts was the nominee of the Trades and Labour Council and was described in some sources as a Labour candidate.

[CWR_11-3-04_CarmsRes-1] "Carmarthenshire County Council Elections. Sweeping Victory for the National Policy". Carmarthen Weekly Reporter. 11 March 1904. p. 1. Retrieved 15 September 2015.

[CJ_4-3-04_CarmsNoms-2] "County Council Nominations". Carmarthen Journal. 4 March 1904. p. 5. Retrieved 17 September 2015.

[LM_3-3-04_edit-3] "The Pending Fight (editorial)". Llanelly Mercury. 3 March 1904. p. 4. Retrieved 13 May 2021.

[CJ_18-3-04_Carms_AGM-5] "Carmarthenshire County Council. Statutory Meeting". Carmarthen Journal. 18 March 1904. p. 5. Retrieved 19 September 2015.

[CWR_29-4-04-6] "Amman Valley Bye-Election. Return of the Rev. Towyn Jones". Carmarthen Weekly Reporter (supplement). 29 April 1904. p. 1. Retrieved 23 March 2023.

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[n 1]

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