 In 1851 his work "Local Self-Government and Centralisation" was published and followed in 1854 by "The Parish and its Obligations and Powers".In 1852 Smith refused an offer to stand for the Parliamentary seat of Sheffield at the UK general election of that year.In 1854, he joined forces with the Revd M. W. Malet and W. J. Evelyn (MP for Surrey) to form the Anti-Centralisation Union, which survived until 1857.