me to be the agent of Mr. Clay, or of his friends, or that I
had intended to propose to him terms of any kind from them, or that he
could have supposed me to be capable of expressing the opinion that 'it
was right to fight such intriguers with their own weapons.' Such a
supposition, had I entertained it, would have rendered me exceedingly
unhappy, as there is no man on earth whose good opinion I more valued than
that of General Jackson. * * * * * * * * * I owe it to my character to
make another observation. Had I ever known, or even suspected, that
General Jackson believed I had been sent to him by Mr. Clay or his
friends, I should immediately have corrected his erroneous impression, and
thus prevented the necessity for this most unpleasant explanation. * * * *
* * * I had no authority from Mr. Clay, or his friends, to propose any
terms to General Jackson in relation to their votes, nor did I ever make
any such proposition."

This statement fully and triumphantly exonerated Mr. Clay, Mr. Adams, and
their friends, from the charge of "bargain" and "corruption," which had
been so boldly made and widely disseminated. The only witness ever brought
upon the stand to support such an allegation, asserted, in a manner the
most positive and decisive, the entire innocence of the parties
implicated.

That Mr. Clay, in throwing his influence in behalf of Mr. Adams, was but
following out a resolution formed long before he had any opportunity of
communication with Mr. Adams or his friends, on the subject, is proved by
the following extract of a letter from a gentleman in Lexington, Ky., to
the editors of the National Intelligencer, dated March 21, 1825:--

"At different times, before Mr. Clay left this place for Washington, last
fall, I had conversations with him on the subject of the choice of a
President by the House of Representatives. In all of them, he expressed
himself as having long before decided in favor of Mr. Adams, in case the
contest should lie between that gentleman and General Jackson. My last
interview with him was, I think, the day before his departure, when he was
still more explicit, as it was then certain that the election would be
transferred to that tribunal, and highly probable that he would not be
among the number returned. In the course of this conversation, I took
occasion to express my sentiments with respect to the delicate and
difficult circumstances under which he would be placed. He remarked that I
co