Apropos of the difference which has arisen between two of our governing bodies, as shown by the vote of the Overseers "to appoint a committee to consider whether the action of the faculty has heretofore infringed on the legitimate powers of this board," is an article on College Controversies in the Nation. The writer, after a careful investigation of the causes of the many internal commotions among the governing bodies of American colleges, came to the conclusion that the difficulties were the result of a bad system of government. That the administrative duties of the various bodies, the trustees, the faculty and the president, are not strictly defined. That in most cases. "mutual courtesy and consideration are the only bond of union,- a system which works well in time of peace, but is not adapted to times of conflict."

At Harvard we hear of no less than three governing bodies,- the overseers, the corporation, and the faculty. To the students the vast quantity of decisions and reconsiderations, the vote of one body, and a refusal to concur by another are extremely perplexing. It is gratifying to learn that the students are not alone in their perplexity, for the board of overseers has appointed a committee to find out what its legitimate powers are. If this inquiry should lead to the adoption of a written constitution, which would serve as a substitute for the unwritten usages and theories, the system of government of the university would be greatly simplified, and there would be no danger of such controversies which have shaken other institutions to the very foundations.