Beatle John Lennon arrived at Toronto International Airport last night and was detained by immigration officials for 2 1/2 hours before being allowed to proceed to the King Edward Sheraton Hotel.

Lennon, his wife, Yoko, and her 4-year-old daughter Kyoko, were on the way from the Bahamas to Montreal, where they intend to hold a week-long lie-in. The lie-in, in which Lennon and Yoko spend from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. in bed, is part of their peace campaign for peace.

George J. Dick, immigration administrator for the Toronto district, said there had been some questions as to the admissibility of Lennon, and this was the reason for the delay at the airport.

Lennon and his wife and the child were released on their own recognizance last night. A further hearing on the admissibility will be held today.

Lennon and his wife have been denied entry to the United States because of a recent conviction for possession of marijuana in London.

The lie-in was to have been held in the Bahamas, but Lennon decided it was too hot. "And it's farther from the States than I thought," he said last night.

Lennon said he thought there would be no problem entering Canada despite the marijuana conviction. "We all thought it was sort of like home. Sort of like popping into Ireland only a bit farther."

Lennon said he wanted to go to Montreal for the lie-in but also to see Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

"We want to give him acorns to plant for peace and we were told he lives there," he said. "We want to give some to President Nixon but we can't get close to him."

The lie-in promotes peace by focusing attention on the problem and by "slowing things down. If everyone stayed in bed for a week there'd be no killing."

Mrs. Lennon said their loss of privacy during the lie-in is their sacrifice in the campaign for world peace.

The idea of the lie-in "came to a head in our heads," Lennon said. "The bed is just something that's not usually used. It came to us when we got married in Amsterdam and we knew the press would be following us so we thought we may as well use it. We want to go to the States to encourage the kids not to be so violent in their non-violence."

Lennon said he and his family will remain in Toronto pending the results of the inquiry. He said he will hire a lawyer "because I'm pretty vague on the details of the case."

A tall blond man who identified himself only as a professional soccer player drove the Lennons to the hotel. During the ride Mrs. Lennon, dressed in white lace, clutched a yellow starfish, smiled and murmured agreement while her husband talked. Kyoko nestled in Lennon's arms, asleep.

Copyright by The Globe and Mail, May 26, 1969, all rights reserved.