 He continued his fervent support of free trade and was one of the few senators to oppose the White Australia policy, describing "the whole of the inhabitants of Asia as [his] friends".He opposed the 1901 Immigration Restriction Act, supported Asians' eligibility for the old-age pension, and decried the treatment of Kanaka labourers as "cattle".In his opposition to immigration restriction he highlighted the diplomatic insult to Japan and other Asian nations, and published a pamphlet in 1905 supporting the protestations of the Japanese government against the policy.