 He continued in the cabinet when Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott became prime ministare and served as Minister of Public Works, and Controller of Customs (Acting) from 1891 to 1892 following the resignation of Sir Hector-Louis Langevin.Due to age and poor health he declined to continue in cabinet when Sir John Sparrow David Thompson became prime minister in 1892.Following Thompson's death in December 1892, Governor General Lord Aberdeen invited Smith to become prime minister but he declined.