By a vote of twenty-five to twenty, it passed the senate, May fourth, 1836, in the same form, substantially, as that vetoed by general Jackson; but in the house his influence was too powerful to admit of its passage there at that time. On the right of petition, Mr. Clay stated his views, which supported the belief that the servants of the people ought to examine, deliberate, and decide, either to grant or refuse the prayer of a petition, giving the reasons for such decision; and that such was the best mode of putting an end to the agitation of the public on the subject. The right of congress to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, he thought, existed, but seemed inclined to question the expediency of exercising it, under the circumstances then existing. The condition of the deposit banks was made the subject of a report by the secretary of the treasury, on the seventeenth of March, 1836, when Mr. Clay demonstrated the insecurity of the public monies in their keeping, and foretold, with astonishing accuracy, the crisis which in 1837 occurred. The recognition of the independence of Texas, was effected by the exertions of Mr. Clay, on ascertaining that it had a civil government in successful operation. Up to the close of the session, (July fourth, 1836,) Mr. Clay’s vigilance and activity in the service of his country did not abate in the least. The fortification bill, reduction of duties on articles not coming in collision with the manufacturing interests, and various other questions of national importance, engaged his attention. On returning to Kentucky, a dinner was tendered him, by the citizens of Woodford county, at which he reviewed, in a masterly manner, the doings of the administration, and expressed his determination to withdraw from public life, and even went so far as to declare his wish that the state would look for some other individual to fill the station then occupied by him, but which would soon be vacant by the expiration of his term. While surveying his cattle, in the autumn of 1836, he narrowly escaped death, by a furious bull, which rushed towards him, plunging his horns into the horse on which he was seated, killing him suddenly, and throwing Mr. Clay several feet. He, however, escaped with a slight contusion. In 1836, Mr. Clay accepted the appointment of president of the American Colonization Society, in the place of ex-president Madison, deceased.