| Constituency | Dates |
|---|---|
| Carmarthenshire | 9 Apr. 1793 – 1796, 1796 – 1802 |
Sheriff, Devon 1767–8.
By his marriage to the eventual heiress of Edwinsford, Hamlyn acquired with 10,000 acres a strong interest in Carmarthenshire, and on the elevation of George Talbot Rice to the Lords in 1793 took advantage of the vacuum to offer himself to the county. It was nearly 50 years since Edwinsford had provided the county Member, but with the assistance of John Vaughan† of Golden Grove, he was returned unopposed.1R. D. Rees, ‘Parl. Rep. S. Wales 1790-1830’ (Reading Univ. Ph.D. thesis, 1962), ii. 372; Sir F. D. Williams Drummond, Edwinsford; D. L. Baker-Jones, Carm. Historian, v. 17. In 1796 he met with a token opposition from Lord Dynevor’s brother-in-law, but was in no real danger. In 1802 he retired in favour of his son James Hamlyn Williams, his health not being up to a contest.2The Times, 25 Jan. 1802.
Hamlyn made no mark in Parliament: no speech and only one minority vote (against the land tax, 9 May 1798) are known. His main activity consisted of service on local bill committees. In 1795 he obtained a baronetcy and he was thought, by his critics, to be ambitious of a peerage. A more friendly account, at the time of his first election for the county, had it that he was ‘a plain downright country gentleman totally devoid of all pride and affectation’.3Carm. RO, Cwmgwili mss 364. He died 28 May 1811.