without the approval of his father, William. Thomas Powell wrote to the mother of young Thomas Pryse, suggesting an alliance of Gogerdd- an and Nanteos that might later be of advantage to her son but her approval was overruled by her second husband, who instigated an opposition to Powell and resorted to the creation of many new burgesses at Aberystwyth. Powell nevertheless defeated his opponent Thomas Pryse of Dol at the by-election of April 1725, for which the poll figures are not known.6 This quarrel of Gogerddan and Nanteos was deplored by other Tories with local connections,7 and perhaps a brief reconcili- ation is indicated by the unopposed return for the borough at the general election of 1727 of the retiring county member, Francis Cornwallis. He appears to have been given a safe seat as part of the compromise, while Thomas Powell was the unsuccessful Tory candid- ate in the county against the second Lord Lisburne. The outcome of this arrangement can hardly have satisfied Powell's political ambition, and his determination to take advantage of Nanteos control of Tregaron had already been indicated by the creation there in 1725 of 100 more burgesses, after his return at the by-election. News of the death of Francis Cornwallis in August of 1728 spurred Thomas Powell to action. A further 800 new burgesses were enrolled at Tregaron on 23 October 1728. But Thomas Pryse had no intention of tamely surrendering Gogerddan control of the borough constituency. At Michaelmas in 1728 he himself became Mayor of Cardigan, and thus the returning-officer, and the county town alone would supply over 500 voters at the by-election for the Gogerddan candidate, Richard Lloyd of Mabws.8 Lloyd was a kinsman of the Pryse family, and the fact that he was a Whig who supported Sir Robert Walpole's ministry illustrates the divorce of local rivalries from national politics. The by-election poll began on i May 1729, and lasted several days. The only information as to what happened then comes from the evidence subsequently submitted by both sides to the Committee of Elections of the House of Commons. This is contradictory and inconsistent, but the proceedings were obviously violent and disorderly. One of Lloyd's supporters was killed in the rioting. Each party accused the other of drawing swords, and Thomas Pryse was threatened by Powell's mob when he announced his intention of conducting a scrutiny at the end of the poll, which had given Powell a majority of 1,224 votes to 924. Finally the mayor compromised by a double return of both candidates as elected, thus passing the problem to the House of Commons. The return of Lloyd was described as being by the majority of the burgesses of Cardigan, Aberystwyth, Lampeter, and Adpar, that of Powell as by a minority of the burgesses of these towns and a majority of the burgesses of Tregaron, being another reputed out-