 In 1839 he gained a diploma of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Copenhagen for his work "The Discovery of America by the Northmen in the Tenth Century", while his interest in geology and subsequent papers led to him being offered the position of President of the newly formed Geologists' Association, but other than delivering the inaugural speech, he did very little.However, the main focus of his writings for many years was as a proponent of local self-government through traditional institutions, such as the parish, the vestry and the ward, a subject also taken up by his daughter Lucy Toulmin Smith.After the cholera epidemic of 1847, Smith's knowledge of law combined with his involvement in his own Highgate neighbourhood led to his demanding better sanitation and reforms advocating devolution and local responsibility.