The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1821-09-25 00:00:00

According to this verieon Sir ROBERT WILsoN
pears to ha►e been the aggrieved party. But, how-
ever that may be, from ►he various versions of this
affair which hare appeared, and the consequent tin-
! certainty of its real merits, the propriety, if not the
. necessity of a formal inquiry becomes every day
more apparent. The right of the Crown to exer-
cise its power in the way in which it has been visit-
ed upon that gallant officer, we do not quition ;
but, the right being admitted, sorely it must prove
a satisfaction to those who wield it to be well *s-
allied that it his not been exercised with greater se-
entity than the offence deserves. We can conceive
noose in which this course could be more neces-
sary than the present. Of the precise words ad-
dressed to Captain OAKES or the soldiers under
his command, nothing appears to he 'mown with
certainty ; and so much depends upon look, manlier,
emphasis, and gesture, we cannot be sure that
correct estimate has been formed, and that no mis-
conception respecting their meaning, or any miscon-
struction of their import has taken place, where all
opportunity of defence or explanation his been de-
nied to the party. This will be sufficiently illus-
trated by a reference to Mr. Sheriff iVarrumsN's
case. That Gentleman feeling himself aggrieved,
made his complaint to Lord BATHURST, who, in
his answer, says, " I had before the receipt of your
letter given directions fur an inquiry to be made
into the circumstances of this transaction, in coil.
sequence of representations made to me which
I am bound to say differ in many essential pa►-
tieulars from the statement which I have received
from you." Now the same party spirit, the
same publicsl feelings, the same irritation which
dictated the report of the Sheriff's conduct•made to
Earl BATHURST, must have influenced the repre-
sentation made of Sir RoneaT WILSON'S beha-
viour. If an inquiry has been thought neces-
sary to elicit the truth from conflicting uecounts in
the one case, how can it he consistently refu.ed in
the other ? It will not be said that Government, if
it had the power, would have dismissed the She-
riff from his office in a summary way. The insti-
tution of an inquiry is an admission that his state-
ment may prove correct, and his complaint well
founded. Should this prove the result of the in-
quiu,, then the representations made against him
are wrong ; and if so, how, without inquiry, can
the representations on which Sir R. I.VILSON has
been punished be pronounced correct ?

Letters from Odessa, dated August 28, state,
that up to that date there had been no movement
in the Russian army; and as Odessa is so immedi-
ately in the vicinity of the spot where hostilities
were expected to take place, we may conclude the
reports in the French Papers are mere fabrications.
The letter,, as usual, express the• general opinion
that there will he uo war. There ano mention of
the expected visit of the Emperor A LLIANDSII to
Odessa, mad Winch an event had been in agitation,
it would, no doubt, have been known at Odessa
before the gBth August.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE..—Some years ago s Gentle-
malt, after carefully examining the folio edition of
Johnson's Dictionary, firmed the following table of
English words derived from other languages
6,732; French, 4,811; Simon, 1,666; Grerk,l,l4B ;
Deur+, 661 ; Italian. 211 ; Germs., 106; Welsh, 95; Da-
nish, 75; Spanish, 56 ; leelandic, 50; Swedish, 34 ; Gothic,
31; Hebrew, 16; Teulnuie, 15; Arabic, 13 ; Irish, 6; Ris-
me, 4 ; Flemish, 4; Erse, 4; Syriac, 3; Scottish, 3; Irish
sad Erse, 2; Tur►ish, I ; Irish sad Ficuitish, 1 ; Portuguese,
1 ; Persian, I ; Frisie, 1 ; Prrsie. 1 ; Uncertain, I.—Total,
15,784.

In the early 'times of the revolutionary war in
America it wra difficult to procure officers compe-
tently.qualifiert for the engineer department. On
the decease of one of the chief engineers, a gal.
lant yeoman, who hail received the commendations
of WASHINGTON for the spirit he had displayed in
leading a party of riflemen, applied to the General
fur the vacant office. araftwcrow, amine that
the candidate was as uneducated as brave, inquired
of hint if he was poscesled of that which was an
indispensable quabfication, acquaintance with Ma.
theinutic.s? " MATTHEW Mattocks ?" quoth the
applicant, hesitating ; " stay-1 am acquainted
with EBENEZER Mattockt, and with JONATHAN
Motorist, but I can't say l know MATTHEW Mat-
tocks."