 He obtained a BA in classics from Oxford in 1837 (and an MA in 1843 and DD in 1849) and was ordained as a deacon in 1839 and a priest in 1840 in the Church of England.He rapidly became involved in the Church Missionary Society and he and the Revd Thomas McClatchie arrived in Shanghai on 25 September 1844 to establish a mission.Poor health forced an early return to England, but Smith's "Narrative" of his period in China was published in 1847.