The Sun. — 1861-08-26 (London, England)

CAPTURE OF A BURGLAR AND HIS  WIFE.  Living quietly with his wife and family in Churchlane, Horseley-heath, Wednesbury, Davis committed no less than 13 or 14 successful burglaries. Davis is a miner, and no doubt by the semblance of steady habits (he says he worked in one place for eight years), and from his cool and systematic mode of going about his " night work," he for a long period went on unsuspected. At length the police got no fewer than 13 clear cases against the burglar and his, wife, for the woman was charged and placed in the dockl with her husband. Out of the 13 charges of housebreaking only four were then gone into. In all these the plan pursued by this experienced thief was precisely the same. The shutters well fastened had holes bored in them, and then with a piece of wire, constructed for such purpose, the bolts were drawn back. This done, the sash fastenings were lifted, so that the windows were easily drawn up, and ingress was then afforded to the robber. The thing next done was to secure the doors at the foot of the staircase, and then Davis, lighting a candle by means of the dark lantern he brought with him, proceeded to rummage cupboards, drawers, and such other receptacles as contained property, and packing up a selection of these they were carried off. In his exit with these he appears to have passed through the front door, which he left open. From the evidence of Inspector Phair, it was shown that the detection of Davis was owing to the fact that his wife had resorted to various pledge shops, where she pawned portions of the articles stolen by her husband. Mrs. Agnes Oldacre, pawnbroker, proved the pledging of property pledged by the female prisoner, and as to which the persons who had been robbed established that such was part of the plunder obtained from their dwellings. Inspector Phair produced as complete a burglar's kit as he bad met with in the course of his many years' experience. Some of the implements were of such a clever yet simple construction as were new even to him, Mr. Phair found a six-barrelled revolver pistol, loaded to the muzzle, as well as powder and shot in abundance. Inspector Phair has found a very large quantity of what is no doubt stolen property (irrespective of that produced in court) in the house of the prisoner. The magistrates and Mr. Sharp, who remained until a late hour to hear the charges, fully committed both 1) ivis and his wife for trial at the next Stafford assizes.  A REAL MURDER —We learn from Captain . Henry Johnston, of Washington county, Mississippi, now in our city, that on the 18th of July Mr. Preston Pickett, an influential planter of Egg Point, while riding along the levee, near the Point, was shot by some person concealed behind a cluster of cotton-wood bushes, at a distance of not more than 15 or 20 paces. The weapon used was a double-barrelled shot gun. 15 shots entered the clothes of Mr. Pickett, but four taking effect in his body. The murderer, supposing Mr. Pickett killed, stepped from his ambush, but, seeing him stand with pistol in hand, made his escape through a cornfield. Mr. Pickett returned to the hotel, which was about 300 yards distant, where ho fainted from the loss of blood consequent upon his injuries. A physician was called in, Mr. Pickett's wounds were skilfully dressed, and he was rapidly convalescing, when, on the following Wednesday night, his assassin, finding he was not mortally wounded, entered the room in the hotel where Mr. Pickett was lying, attended by his body servant, chased the boy out, and placing the muzzle of a double-barrelled gun so close to Mr. Pickett as to burn the bedclothes in its discharge, fired both barrels into the body of the wounded and prostrate man, literally tearing him to pieces and killing him instantly. The murderer escaped, and although the most strenuous efforts were being made to ferret out the cold-blooded assassin, up to the time our informant left no traces had been found of the perpetrator of this inhuman deed.—Memphis oikrais