Of nonconformist lineage, he believed in social and intellectual improvement, the virtues of hard work and thrift and the role of the Liberal Party in the encouragement and promotion of this ethic.

He was said to have been inspired by a speech given by the author and advocate of self help Dr Samuel Smiles and took up the cause because he presciently believed that Britain was falling behind its international competitors, particularly Germany.

[6] He later travelled a good deal in Europe[7] and the USA[8] to develop his understanding and expertise in the field and published a number of pamphlets and press articles on the subject.

[17] However he allowed himself to be persuaded to stand as a Liberal for Keighley at a by-election on 29 June 1915 when the sitting member, Stanley Buckmaster was raised to the peerage and appointed Lord Chancellor.

[19] He was a Justice of the Peace for the West Riding and for Keighley,[20] Vice Chairman of the Royal Commission on International Exhibitions,[21] a member of the Standing Committee of Advice for Education in Art[22] and in 1912 he was granted the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by Leeds University.

In conversation with Carnegie at his home, Skibo Castle in Sutherland, Smith celebrated the success of Keighley's students but lamented the need for a public library in the town to support them.

The borough council provided the site and held a competition to design the building in Edwardian Free Style with Arts and Crafts Movement influence.