W. R. H. Powell

On the death of his father in 1834 he inherited Maesgwynne estate of 3,468 acres (14.03 km2) in the parish of Llanboidy, Carmarthenshire, which had been owned by the Howell family.

Powell stated that partisan colours were no longer shown at election times and this, he believed "was an evidence that party feeling was dying out in the country".

[5] Later that year, when a by-election was held, Powell was a leading supporter of David Pugh, the Liberal-Conservative who represented Carmarthenshire in the House of Commons from 1857 until 1868.

Two years later he was briefly mentioned as a possible Liberal candidate for Carmarthen Boroughs following the resignation of Charles Nevill although there was no real prospect of him contesting this urban constituency.

The constituency was considered less favourable to the Liberals than neighbouring East Carmarthenshire which included a range of growing industrial communities.

[8] The overwhelmingly nonconformist character of the constituency was regarded as a distinct advantage to the Liberal candidate, and a combination of resentment of the established church (largely driven by such issues as the tithe and church rates) and the direct influence of the chapels was predicted to be decisive in attracting the votes of agricultural labourers.

Amongst the electors of West Carmarthenshire however, and especially after the extension of the franchise in 1884, he proved a very popular member who was regarded as being sympathetic with the views of those he represented.