The letter which the captain of the foot ball team read last Tuesday evening at the meeting of the Harvard Association seems to have occasioned considerable comment, if we may judge from the expressions which we have heard, and from the communications which we have received, several of which we publish this morning.

The action in question may be somewhat peculiar, but it must be remembered that every person has a right to his own personal opinion, and has, moreover, a right to express this opinion in a meeting which is open to a general discussion of the subjects in hand. The private opinion, however, of a prominent public person will necessarily carry much more weight than the opinion of a private person could ever carry. A private person, as long as he holds his public position, cannot divest himself of a certain degree of authority which is naturally associated with his position. This, we think, is the unfortunate phase of the present affair, and for this reason if possible the letter should be withheld entirely. No one will deny that the letter signed by the Harvard delegates will carry more weight both to the outside world, and more especially to Yale itself, than a letter signed by any three spectators of the game. On this account we are glad that the Association refused to sanction the opinions expressed in this letter, and hope it will be distinctly understood, that the letter is simply the opinion of three private individuals. The document, however, has no bearing whatever on the question of the championship. The special meeting of the Convention held directly after Thanksgiving day, decided that there should be no championship this year, that no one had won the championship; and we feel sure that the college will agree with the justice of the vote of our delegates in so deciding this question.

Meanwhile the Yale and Princeton papers, in a very childish and unreasonable manner, assure their readers that the championship has been virtually won by their respective colleges. No amount of petty discussion and puerile quibbling, however, will alter the decisions of the referee and of the convention in declaring that there is no championship.