[2] A Liberal seat for decades, Carmarthen Boroughs fell to the Conservatives in 1874 when the octogenarian sitting member, Sir John Stepney, stood down.
[3] As a result, Charles Nevill, who resisted calls to oppose the elder Stepney in 1868, entered the fray, and was championed as 'one of the largest employers of labour' in the locality.
[5] However, Liberals supporters of Arthur Stepney swiftly took action to select a candidate before their political opponents had any opportunity to fully consider their options.
On the morning of 31 July, Arthur Stepney travelled to Carmarthen by train, where he was met by a delegation of prominent liberals who held a formal meeting chaired by the Mayor, David Edwards.
Williams was said to have intended to declare his candidature but withdrew to avoid a division in the ranks, while the claims of Lewis Morris were also ignored.