CENTRAL  AMERICA

143

the  south  by  Colombia,  and  the  west  by  the
Pacific  Ocean.
Through  its  center  is  a  strip  of  land  stretching ­
  five  miles  on  either  side  of  the  Panama
Canal  for  a  distance  of  45  miles  and  known
as  the  Canal  Zone.  By  the  Isthmian  Canal
Convention  of  November  18,  1903,  the  United
States  acquired  a  perpetual  right  of  occupation, ­
  use  and  control  over  the  Zone,  paying
the  Republic  of  Panama  the  sum  of  $10,000,-000,
  and,  beginning  February  26,  1913,  the
sum  of  $230,000  annually  so  long  as  such  occupancy ­
  continues.  The  Canal  Zone  is  governed ­
  by  the  President  of  the  United  States.
The  population  of  this  strip  during  the  building ­
  of  the  canal  was  as  high  as  70,000,  but  it  is
doubtful  if  it  has  30,000  inhabitants  to-day.
With  the  completion  of  the  Canal,  the  force  of
workmen  necessary  to  maintain  it  in  running
order,  together  with  civilian  employes  and
the  United  States  garrison,  will  make  a  permanent ­
  population  of  perhaps  25,000.
British  Honduras,  with  an  area  of  7562
square  miles  and  a  population  of  40,000,  is  the