This racial tolerance, combined with his opposition to women's suffrage, has led the economist John Hawkins to describe him as "probably the least racist but perhaps the most sexist member of the Australian Senate in its first decade".

[3] In 1883 Edward embarked for New South Wales, while his father travelled to New York to become resident secretary of the Liverpool, London & Globe Insurance Company.

He received a prize for an essay on "The Beneficial Influence of a Free Trade Policy upon the Colony of New South Wales", written as a contribution to the 1887 centennial edition of the Year-Book of Australia.

[2] While focusing overwhelmingly on free trade, actively denigrating the neighbouring colony of Victoria's protectionist policies, he also worked on the compilation of an Australian biographical supplement to Webster's International Dictionary and supported Federation.

[7] He continued his undiscourageable 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".

[2] He opposed the 1901 Immigration Restriction Act, supported Asians' eligibility for the old-age pension, and decried the treatment of Kanaka labourers as "cattle".

[3] 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.

[1] Described by the Tribune as "the best living authority on Australia's tariff question", his pamphlet to the Cobden Club in 1907 attracted a favourable reception.