Editing Samuel Smiles (section)

==Career as a campaigner==
In 1837, he wrote articles for the ''Edinburgh Weekly Chronicle'' and the [[Leeds Times]], campaigning for [[Reform Act 1832|parliamentary reform]].<ref name="spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk"/> In November 1838, Smiles was invited to become the editor of the ''Leeds Times'', a position he accepted and filled until 1842.{{r|ODNB}} In May 1840, Smiles became secretary to the Leeds Parliamentary Reform Association, an organisation that held to the six objectives of [[Chartism]]: [[universal suffrage]] for all men over the age of 21; equal-sized electoral districts; voting by [[secret ballot]]; an end to the need of MPs to qualify for [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]], other than by winning an election; pay for MPs; and annual Parliaments.

As editor of the ''Leeds Times'', he advocated radical causes ranging from women's suffrage to [[free trade]] and parliamentary reform. By the late 1840s, however, Smiles became concerned about the advocation of physical force by Chartists [[Feargus O'Connor]] and [[George Julian Harney]], although he seems to have agreed with them that the movement's current tactics were not effective, saying that "mere political reform will not cure the manifold evils which now afflict society".

On 7 December 1843, Samuel married Sarah Ann Holmes Dixon in Leeds. They had three daughters and two sons.{{r|ODNB}}

In 1845, he left the ''Leeds Times'' and became a secretary for the newly formed [[Leeds & Thirsk Railway]]. After nine years, he worked for the [[South Eastern Railway (UK)|South Eastern Railway]].

In the 1850s, Smiles abandoned his interest in parliament and decided that [[self-help]] was the most important place of reform. In 1859, he published his book ''[[Self-Help (Smiles book)|Self-Help; with Illustrations of Character and Conduct]]''.

Smiles wrote articles for the ''Quarterly''. In an article on railways, he argued that the railways should be nationalised and that third-class passengers should be encouraged.<ref>Smiles, p. 99.</ref> In 1861 Smiles published an article from the ''Quarterly'', renamed ''Workers Earnings, Savings, and Strikes''. He claimed poverty in many instances was caused by habitual improvidence:
{{Quote|Times of great prosperity, in which wages are highest and mills running full time are not times in which Mechanics' Institutes and Schools flourish, but times in which publicans and beer sellers prosper and grow rich&nbsp;... A workman earning 50s. to 60s. a week (above the average pay of bankers' clerks) was content to inhabit a miserable one-roomed dwelling in a bad neighbourhood, the one room serving as parlour, kitchen, and sleeping-room for the whole family, which consisted of husband, wife, four sons, two cats, and a dog. The witness was asked: Do you think this family was unable to get better lodgings, or were they careless? They were careless, was the reply.<ref>Smiles, p. 100.</ref>}}

In 1866, Smiles became president of the [[National Provident Institution]] but left in 1871, after suffering a debilitating stroke.

The Globe Permanent Benefit Building Society 493 New Cross Road Deptford SE14 Founded 1868 Incorporated 1878. Founded for the mutual benefit of investors and borrowers with the approval of the late Samuel Smiles. The 50th Anniversary Jubilee Report  (1 August 1918) states that he was a founding Director and was involved for 3 years. All founders lived in Deptford or the neighbourhood as did the ten successors.