actors any worse than others. Both Church and Stage were moving to the same goal. No drama was successful that made vice triumphant. Many of the poor did not go to church or chapel, and but for the theatre they might fail to see the advantage in being moral. Many considered Morton's profession "a wasteful extravagance which lured young people from the narrow path," reported his local paper. Morton's advice to the young was to secure and retain a good character, to persevere and to cultivate their strongest talent. Believe in God and in yourself. Do not recognise the word 'cannot'. Be enterprising and ambitious. Sacrifice home comforts. Show punctuality and truthfulness. "If truth will not help you, falsehood never will. Alcoholic drinking is the greatest curse in the world." Morton lived to see greater tolerance. On his hundredth birthday, in 1938, the Hull Daily Mail said Morton was held in great respect, "even by those who would not dream of entering any theatre. Whatever he brought for his patrons, grand opera, musical comedy, drama, or pantomime, came as a clean, wholesome entertainment." Criticism was a two-way process. In 1886 Morton complained publicly about the Church flouting regulations by putting on plays for financial gain without a license. The Era, which normally treated Morton with respect, responded with a robust satirical editorial which incorporated a history of church/stage relationships. Morton, undeterred, explained that current church practice was in direct and unfair competition with his New Cross business. Furthermore, he had just received an unapologetic letter from a local clergyman who thanked him for the free publicity! Positive interaction Following the Evangelical Revival of 1859, it was not uncommon for flourishing churches to hire theatres for their expanding Sunday congregations. C H Spurgeon, Baptist preacher of the Metropolitan Tabernacle (and highly respected by Morton) variously used the Surrey Music Hall, the Exeter Hall and the Crystal Palace. Morton seems unsure of the practice but he did advertise one of his halls as available for church activities. He was positive about sacred drama. On Good Friday,1889, he organised a grand sacred concert at the Greenwich Theatre which included Sims Reeves. In 1899, and on many subsequent occasions, he booked his friend William Greet's company with The Sign of the Cross, a popular drama by Wilson Barrett written explicitly to bring Church and Stage closer together. In Hull Morton rented out a hall