Chap. LXVL HEIR-APPARENT. 
423 
not customary amongst the Songhay to murder the 
younger brothers of the newly elected king, or to 
render them incapable of aspiring to the royal dig- 
nity by depriving them of their sight (as is still the 
custom in Waday), or in some other manner dis- 
abling them ; so, on the other hand, it was no doubt 
very prejudicial to the stability of the empire, that so 
many royal princes were constantly installed as 
governors of powerful provinces, some of them si- 
tuated at a great distance from the capital. Such a 
government could only prosper under the rule of a 
powerful king, such as Mohammed el Haj A'skia was 
during his most vigorous period. 
On the other hand, we find that the government of 
Songhay was far more despotic than that of B6rnu, 
where, as I have had occasion to relate*, the election 
of a new king from among the royal princes was placed 
in the hands of three electors, themselves chosen from 
the most trustworthy men of the country; while the 
kings of Songhay appear originally to have designated 
their own successor among the royal princes, there 
being even an established dignity of something like 
an heir-apparent or crown-prince, with the title of 
u fereng-mangha :"f but this principle, as is naturally 
the case in barbaric states without any written con- 
* Vol. II. p. 270. 
f The exact meaning of the title " fereng-mangha," and the 
authority with which it was invested, are not quite clear; for 
although there is little doubt that "fereng-mangha" signifies "great 
prince," it is remarkable that on various occasions we find two 
"fereng-mangha" instead of one; and it is stated of Mohammed 
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