Alfred Lister

Alfred Lister was the Registrar-General of Hong Kong and Colonial [Treasurer of Hong Kong].
During his post as acting Registrar General, he visited the I-ts'z during an inspection. He was shocked by the poor condition of the house, which created a public scandal. Hong [Kong Governor|Governor] Richard [Graves MacDonnell] instructed Lister and other officers to clear out the building and sent the inmates to the Government Civil Hospital. Lister’s observations and misinterpretation of the conventional role of the I-ts’z meant that the colonial government’s policy of non-intervention in Chinese affairs was no longer feasible. A Commission of Inquiry included Lister was formed in May 1866 to investigate the possibility to form a Chinese hospital, which later became the Tung Wah Hospital. In 1883, he was appointed Colonial Treasurer of Hong Kong.