Panama

Defence.--Panama has no army or navy, the police force being an efficient body organized originally and still directed by Amer ican officers. Under the treaty with the United States, that Gov ernment protects the isthmian republic from foreign aggression and intervenes in case of serious domestic strife, on the call of the president of Panama.

Communications.—The Panama canal brings to Panama the largest tonnage of shipping of any country in Latin America, and its ports rival the great centres of the world. The chief railway is the Panama railroad, now owned by the U.S. Government, but originally built in by the American bankers and mer chants, Howland and Aspinwall. When completed in 1855, it had cost $7,500,000; its length between termini is 471 miles. The line was bought by the French Canal Company for $25,500,000, and was sold to the U.S. Government when the assets of the French company were purchased at the time the United States took over the construction of the canal. Another railway, in Chiriqui Prov ince, comprising about 4o m., was completed in 1927-28 by President Arosemena, just prior to his election. The United Fruit Co. operates 151 m. of banana railway. The highways of Panama, include a fine paved road from Panama city into Chiriqui Prov ince, various highways in the Canal Zone, and the plans for high way construction include military roads of concrete throughout the Canal Zone, north and south into the adjacent territory, and across the country paralleling the canal.

Finance.—Panama's foreign debt is $16,000,000, contracted in 1928, chiefly for roads and other public works; of this 1928 issue replaced an issue of similar amount put out for the same purpose in 1923. The U.S. Government pays Panama an annual rental of $250,000 on the Canal Zone, and the remainder of the income of the country comes from duties on imports and a few direct taxes. The Canal Zone constitutes a free zone, and the residents there, all of whom are employees of the U.S. Govern ment, enjoy the privileges of purchase of duty-free supplies in the commissaries.

The monetary unit of Panama is the balboa, equal in value to the U.S. dollar, and although no gold balboas are in circulation, silver subsidiary coins are minted, although they are scarce. The circulating medium is chiefly U.S. currency. The half-balboa, or half-dollar, is sometimes called a peso and divided into an imagi nary 10o centavos; 5o centavos, therefore, means 25 cents.

Panaman revenue and expenditures have risen gradually in recent years, the budget for 1927-28 being $2,979,682, more than double that of 1921-22.

Commerce and Trade.—The trans-shipment and transfer of goods at the Canal Zone ports do not appear in the movements of business in Panama, as such shipments are within the Canal Zone, and are under the regulations of free entry. The chief ex

port of Panama is bananas, the 1924 figures showing an export value of $1,891,000, all going to the United States. Cacao is the second item of importance, the year's total exports being valued at $267,000. Coconuts were valued at $224,299, ivory nuts at $116,398 and pearls, once a great source of revenue and interest in Panama, $68,524. Mother-of-pearl exports were $68,472, and tortoise shell $85,308.

There are gold mines in Panama and other minerals of impor tance, but these are located chiefly in the difficult country of the interior, towards Colombia, and transportation is a serious prob lem. Oil has been found in this same region, and copper and iron have been located but not mined. There are two promising coal deposits, near Bocas del Toro and on the Golfo Dulce. The latter deposits also extend into Colombia, but neither has been devel oped. There are important salt mines at Parita bay on the Golfo Dulce.

History.

Panama had a distinctive and picturesque history antedating its independence from Colombia in 1903. The isthmus was the chief route of travel and of the shipment of treasure from all of Latin America south of Mexico, and even the galleys from Manila trans-shipped their cargoes there. All of the South Amer ican provinces of Spain were reached via Panama ; even the prov inces of the Rio de la Plata, now Argentina and Uruguay, sent their produce and received their supplies and mails overland through Peru and thence up the Pacific coast to Panama. The isthmus was probably visited by Alonso de Ojeda in 1499, and in 1501 Rodrigo Bastidas, coasting the northern border of South America from Venezuela westward, reached Porto Bello. Columbus in 1502 entered the mighty gulf which was named in his honour, Admiral or Almirante bay. He planted the colony, Nombre de Dios, at Porto Bello, but this was destroyed by the hostile Indians as soon as he had sailed away. In 1510, it was re-established by Diego de Nicuessa, the first governor of the Province of Castilla del Oro, including most of Panama, Costa Rica, and part of Nicaragua. In the same year, Darien colony (originally called Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darien) was founded by Martin Fernandez de Enciso. In December of that year, an insurrection against Enciso put Vasco Nunez de Balboa in command of the province. Balboa, who had been in Panama since 1501, gradually pushing his for tunes upward, crossed the isthmus in 1513 and discovered the Pacific ocean, lying to the southward of the coastline; he named it the Southern ocean, and took possession of it in the name of the King of Spain, on Sept. 25 or 26.